Little Problems
by SomethingOfImportance
Summary: Thanks to Edward's usual problems, Roy is sent on a mission with him. Doesn't please Ed at all. But what will Roy do when Ed is captured and turned into a child with no memory of him? What'll he do until he can fix it? Parental!Roy&RizaEd, slight Royai
1. Chapter 1

**SOP: I'm still not entirely sure how this came to mind. XD I guess you're in for it as much as I am. :3 Anyways, this is..somewhere..I dunno, a smidgen AU, and Ed is..Oh, I think around 13. So. Yeah. We'll get on with that. BTW, the prologue and the first chapter are smashed together because the PL. was so damn short.**

* * *

**Prologue**

"Dammit Mustang! Why did you have to come? You've never come on any other mission!" Ed grouched for the thousandth time, issuing sighs from both Alphonse and the aforementioned Colonel. Roy's shoulders slumped.

"I told you, Ed. I have to stop letting you go on spending sprees during missions. It's military policy. I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. But Fuhrers' orders." He said blandly. Alphonse glanced out the window. "Brother.. I wanted to talk to you about something." He said, tone serious. This got Ed's attention.

"What is it, Al?" He asked, watching his brother with curious eyes. Al sighed. "I was thinking..since we're going to Risembool, do you think I could stay with Winry and Aunty Pinako for a while?" He asked cautiously. Ed looked stricken. "Why Al? You've gone everywhere with me! What's the change?" He asked, voice softening. Alphonse looked down, the metal creaking with his movements. "I just want a break is all." He said tiredly.

Ed never thought about how all the traveling could wear down on Al. He didn't have the bodily problems to think about Like Ed did, which made traveling..well, thinking time. He leaned back. "Alright.." He finally said, shoulders slumping. Alphonse visibly brightened. "Thanks brother!" He said, clasping his hands together. Ed waved his hand around in the air. "Yeah, yeah, don't make a habit out of it though." He said, attempting to keep the official air to his tone.

Mustang chuckled.

* * *

It was a few hours before they reached Risembool. Once there, they visited and gathered supplies for the mission. They didn't stay long, really. Just enough to get it all done. Ed said goodbye to Al, following Mustang back to the train station just in time.

Once they were seated, Roy gave Ed a serious look. "You can't slack off with this mission, Fullmetal." He said honestly. Ed shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle, Old man." He huffed, glaring out the window. Roy looked offended. "Don't speak like that to your superior officers. I'll have you Court Martialed." He threatened. Ed took this moment of irritability to bluntly ignore the colonel, leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes.

This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

A few train rides later, they found themselves in a very small city called Beckenfield. Edward glared at the map he was holding. "This place doesn't even show up on the map!" He growled, turning it every which-way. Mustang rolled his eyes, swiping the offending paper from Edward. "It's got a population of under four-thousand, Fullmetal. It's not going to be on a map." He reprimanded, heading towards the only Inn he could find. They were both tired and irritable, and it was late evening. Definitely time to eat and sleep.

Edward grumbled his unhappiness behind him, shoving his hands into his pockets and trudging after him.

If they knew what lay ahead, surely they wouldn't have been so nonchalant.

* * *

**See? XD Short as hell. **

* * *

**Chapter One: The Plot**

"I don't see anything." Edward mumbled quietly, binoculars perched on the bridge of his nose, gaze set on a seemingly innocent building. Just inside the borderline of the city. Mustang grunted, moving into a more comfortable position.

They'd been watching the entrance for nearly four hours. And yet, nothing. Edward sighed. "I hate doing stakeouts. They're so Godda- Whoa!" He suddenly fell back, practically landing on top of Roy. The older man shoved him off, sitting up. "What?" he grouched, grabbing the binoculars and studying the entrance of the building. "What in the hell is _that..._?" He murmured, brows furrowing as he lowered the contraption. "Let's go get a closer look." He said simply, before stealthily moving out from behind the cluster of foliage they'd been hiding in.

Ed jumped up. "Hey! You'll get us caught." He hissed, but followed anyways. It wasn't like they couldn't take care of themselves, but Ed would much rather avoid conflict in this particular place. They weren't even sure what was going on. But the amount of alchemical residue in the air was enough to make Ed feel sick.

Roy shushed him, a silent notion for him to walk quieter. Edward complied, albeit grudgingly. Together, they slowly trekked towards the building, careful not to be seen. "Alright..now that we know that they're really here..let's find an entrance." Roy hissed. Ed didn't need to be told twice. He shoved ahead of a scandalized-looking Roy, being the entrance-finding expert he was. It took him only half a minute to find a low-set window. He shoved in on it, then up. Unlocked. "Amazing." He mumbled flatly, ignoring the colonel's eyeroll.

They dropped in on the other side of it, Ed covering their tracks by closing the window. They both stepped lightly down the hall, eyes peeled and ears open. The hallway was impossibly long compared to the building itself. Ed stopped at a two-way, glancing left, then right. "..Let's split up. You go left, I'll go right." He mumbled, glancing back at Roy. Roy's gaze hardened. "I don't think so, Fullmetal. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" He demanded.

Edward sighed. "Look, just do things the way I say, got it? I always come back to you alive, don't I? And I know _you_ can take care of yourself." he said disdainfully, gripping the corner of the wall. "Look. If I don't find anything, I'll just come back to you, got it?" He asked. Roy hesitated, but nodded. "Very well. I'll be expecting you." He said slowly, before starting off to the left. Edward rose a brow. He hadn't expected it to be that easy. However, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Stupid colonel. Damn confusing." He mumbled, but went silent so as not to get caught. How long was this hallway, anyways? He trailed his fingers over the wall in boredom, but remained alert as always.

It caught him off-guard when he heard a quiet _blip_ noise and a section of the wall, like a door...just..disappeared. His jaw slackened and his eyes widened. "The hell?" He murmured, cautiously venturing into the room he'd unveiled. It was very brightly lit, almost enough to hurt his eyes. He waited a millisecond so that they could adjust, then wandered further. There were things in here that he couldn't even begin to imagine existing.

He stood stock-still once he made it fully into the room, a slightly horrified look on his face as he took in what was before him.

People..or, so he figured. They were suspended in cases, oxygen masks over their faces. They all looked peaceful, which didn't match their predicament. Hell...some of them were children. They were all nude, but Edward either didn't notice or didn't care. He put a hand to his forehead. Roy wasn't going to believe this.

He heard it, but never got to see it. The whoosh of air you hear right before something hits you. The next thing he knew was darkness.

* * *

Roy sighed for the umpteenth time. He was finding nothing. He found a janitorial closet a few yard back, but that was all. He wondered where Edward was...surely he'd be back by now. He growled under his breath, deciding to turn back. Bloody fuckin' hell. He made his way slowly back to the area where they'd split up, before continuing onwards. Surely he hadn't gone that far? It'd only taken Roy 10 minutes to get back. Maybe he'd just been slower than Ed.

The door was closed by the time he made it there, so he didn't notice it. He continued passed it. His steps carried him through the slowly darkening hallway. He made several turns, before coming across the first door he'd seen yet. There was a small window at the top. He stood up on his toes, looking in and squinting. It was awfully bright...

His eyes widened as he spotted a cluster of alchemists in the center of the room, dressed like doctors. They were hovering over something on a table. Roy tilted to the left to get a better look, straining his eyes. A part of him let him know that it was dangerous to be so focused on one thing like this, but Roy's curiosity was a strong beast not to be tamed.

He leaned against the door a little more, figuring it was strong enough to hold his weight. But he never counted on it being just a little..open. It fell open, Roy falling through the door. Automatically, he righted himself, fingers poised to snap. His senses were back up to alertness, eyes narrowed on the alchemists that stared at him. One of them started towards him, obviously not noticing the threat. Roy's fingers snapped, and the man was engulfed in flames, his screaming tearing through the room for a few minutes before they died, the man reduced to little more than a pile of ash.

Roy grimaced; he didn't like killing, but if he had to to make these people fear him, he would. He also noted that fire wasn't a great thing to use in a room filled with chemicals. He could've blown them all sky-high on accident!

He took this moment of stunned silence to get a look at what they were focused on. One of the Alchemists was gone, so now Roy could see better...

"Fullmetal.." He breathed, eyes trained on the younger alchemist. He was unconscious, and noticeably...smaller. Way noticeably smaller. Idly, the amused thought that he was NOT going to be happy about this rang through Roy's mind, but he quickly silenced it. Roy held up his fingers again. "Step away from him, or so help me." He hissed, fingers tightening.

The alchemists, having seen what had happened to their comrade, quickly moved away from Ed. Roy moved forwards, detaching the wires from his skin and lifting him. The transmutation circle underneath him still glowed faintly, causing Roy to glare at it. He looked up at the alchemists. "What did you _do_?" He demanded. One of them smirked.

"You won't make it out of here alive, so I'll go ahead and tell you." He boasted, arms crossing. "We're working on the alchemical path to immortality. So far..quite successful. The only setback," He said regretfully, "being that our subjects keep losing their memory. Only one of them has ever regained them, but he died shortly after due to shock." He said, shrugging flippantly.

Roy glowered. He then looked down at Ed, who was still out. He looked fragile compared to his normal state, the hospital gown they'd put on him draping off both shoulders. His gaze hardened and he looked up. "Do not follow me." He said, moving Edward so he rested in one arm, other hand poised to snap. He backed out of the room, fighting an internal battle. He had to destroy the building...and that included everything in it. He glanced at the other subjects. He was sure most of them had family somewhere..but there was no way he could get them all out, whether he actually tried or not. Sighing, he let the door slam behind him.

It took him a while to find where they'd come in at, the alarms sounding shortly after he'd left the room. He'd managed to singe about ten people on his way out, but once he was back outside, he whirled around and snapped, blowing up a good chunk of the building just as reinforcements arrived. Roy hadn't called for them, but he silently thanked their arrival. It didn't surprise him, either. Roy had told Riza that if they weren't back to the inn by seven, then something probably went wrong.

Now, how they made it there that fast, Roy never actually found out. His focus was on carrying Ed to one of the police cars where Riza sat. Her eyes visibly widened. "Oh no.." She said quietly, gun quickly returned to it's holster as she examined Ed. "What did they do to him?" She asked, looking up with confused eyes. Roy chewed on his lower lip. "I looked at the transmutation circle. I'm still not entirely sure what it was." He glared up towards the building. "They were practicing alchemical immortality. That ground's almost as forbidden as human transmutation." He said bitingly, carefully setting Edward into the backseat.

The battle [if you could call an infiltration such a thing] raged on for hours, under which Roy carefully checked Edward over and fruitlessly attempted to rectify the problem. There was no affect at all. It was almost as if the teen-turned-child was completely immune to alchemical alteration. After the fifth attempt, he sighed in frustration, slamming his fist into the side of the car.

Eventually, things settled down, and Riza drove them back to the Inn. Carefully, they all trekked up to Roy's room. "The entire team that came today is heading back to central tonight. I'll stay here with you and.." she trailed off, glancing at Ed, who lay next to Roy on the bed. Roy sighed. "What are going to do?" He finally asked, giving Riza a helpless look. "He won't remember any of us. The Alchemist inside told me that. Alphonse isn't himself, and I know nothing about kids. Dammit.." He sighed, resting his head in his hands and groaning silently.

Riza looked lost. "I don't know, sir." She finally said, looking off towards the window. "Is there any way you can think of a fix?" She asked, glancing back to him. Roy sighed. "I've been trying.. but it's like he's...immune.." He mumbled. Her brows furrowed. "Can't you overrun that? Maybe there's just a block." She said. Roy glanced up. "Alchemists can _feel_ blocks, lieutenant." He said flatly.

Riza grinned humorlessly. "Well, I guess you should figure it out, then." She said, standing. "I'm going to get sleep. You should as well." She added, heading towards the door. Roy spared Edward one more look, before carrying him over to the couch and depositing him there, taking his coat off and laying it over the blonde. It was all he could do for now. It was only then he realized how exhausted he was, and when he made it to the bed, he fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Something was hovering at the edge of his consciousness. _Wake up_, it said. Roy wanted to stay asleep, though. However, it continued nudging him, until he finally opened his eyes.

And yelled.

Edward was perched on his chest, an angry glint in his eyes as he held the pen in his hand against Roy's neck in a threatening manner. "Where am I, who are you, and where's my brother?" He demanded. It took Roy a full five seconds to register the situation before he groaned and pushed the midget-turned-way-shorter off of him, sitting up. "Did you _have_ to wake me up?" He asked, yawning. Edward continued glaring at him wordlessly.

Roy mulled it over. The kid couldn't possibly understand what was going on. He coughed. "Well, you're in a hotel, I'm colonel Roy mustang, and your brother is at Winry's house." He answered honestly. Edward stared at him. "Then why am I with you?" He asked, crossing his arms. Roy blinked. "..Eh..." He just continued staring at the child. Edward's eyes suddenly widened.

"You _kidnapped me_!" He yelled, jumping up and pointing an accusing finger at Roy. Roy slowly rose a brow. "Yeah..no, actually, I wouldn't kidnap you if my career depended on it. Calm down, Fullmetal." He mumbled. Edward gave him an odd look. "Full what?" He asked, nose wrinkling. He looked genuinely confused.

Roy sighed. "Oh..right.." He mumbled, looking down. Edward continued staring at him, before sighing. "I want my mom." He mumbled, sitting down and crossing his arms. Roy suddenly felt his heart drop into his stomach. "_Shit..._" He hissed, before standing. "Look, Edward." He said, the name feeling slightly foreign to the usual 'Ed' or 'Fullmetal'.

Edward glanced over at him sullenly, shoulders slouched. Roy opened his mouth, then closed it. He grunted. "Your mom...I can't..she's..." He paused, frowning. What was he supposed to tell the kid? You can't just drop a bomb-shell like 'your mother is dead' on a four year old! He rubbed his temples, attempting to alleviate his sudden headache.

"She left home to go look for your dad. You're staying with me because I'm head of a team who's been searching for him as well." Not a complete lie. He just didn't mention that their last actual interest in Hohenheim died about the time Roy discovered Ed.

Edward studied him, but eventually seemed to accept his answer. He sighed. "M'hungry." He mumbled, arms crossing. He obviously wasn't very happy. Roy chuckled, relieved that he was off of thin ice for now.

"Alright," He stood, "Let's go get some breakfast, then." He said, reaching over to help Edward off of the bed [How had he gotten up there in the first place?] and heading downstairs to the lobby, where Riza sat in a chair reading a newspaper. He caught her attention. "We're going to get something to eat. Coming?" He asked, heading towards the door. Riza hesitated, then nodded. She folded the paper before following them out of the inn.

"So," Riza said, once they sat down to eat at a small cafe across from the inn, "What woke you up so early?" She asked. She leaned back in her chair to watch them, Ed picking at his pancakes and Roy nursing a cup of coffee.

"He sat on me and tried to stab me in the neck with a pen." He offered, tone flat as he took another sip of his drink. Riza's eyebrows shot up and she turned to look at Ed, who smiled sheepishly and shrugged. She sighed. "Edward, can you please not do that again?" She asked kindly. Edward nodded wordlessly.

Thus, it was resolved that Ed was no longer allowed to stab Roy in the neck with pens. Or threaten to.

The rest of breakfast passed by rather smoothly, filled with idle chatter and Riza's silent notion that she was going to Ask Roy what the story was once they were alone. Roy nodded. It would be rather bad if Ed tried to pull a fast one on them and asked Riza where his mother was when she didn't know what Roy had told him.

Once they were done, they all headed for the train station to get a ticket back to central. Only in the comfort of his own home could Roy figure out how to sort this mess out. He wondered idly what they would do with Edward until then.

Well, let's just say he was going to find out very soon.

* * *

**SOP: :O IT'S FINISHED! Well, part one, anyways. This the only story that I'm posting _while I write it_, meaning I've got a few others here that I haven't finished that will be posted once I am :D I'm only putting this one up cause I'm actually writing it at an alarming rate. :3 PLEASE REVEW! It makes me happy to see what people think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SOP: Hi guys! Wow, I got quite a few more reviews than I expected, which is probably why I'm updating today. XD I got it written so quick. I just couldn't wait. xD If you know what I mean. Anyways, I may as well reply to you guys. :D!**

**Orange Singer:** Thanks for that little note. xD without it I would have kept it as 'epilogue' -smacks self- anyways, I'm glad you liked the pen scene! XD I had it pictured just so..vividly I had to put it in. As far as him learning about alphonse and his mother, I'm still worried about that. I haven't decided when that should happen. xD I'm honestly afraid of writing it, lol.

**Mrawgirl09: **Thanks also for the note. xD Glad you liked the story so far!

**Anime-Luver101: **Thanks! XD And yeah, poor Edo-chibi! He'll get better though. XD

**Ali Phantom: **Got the hint! See? I got it up on the next night, just for you! :D

**Torean: **I agree, they always seem to be problem solvers. XD But I love Riza! She's like, my favorite chartacter next to Roy and Ed! She'll get a big part of this story, I'm thinking. n.n Thanks for reviewing for me, girly! :3

**Fullmetal-Hurricane:** And so you shall. XD

**Atemu'sLotus:** I know! XD He'll only get cuter 8D

**Chapter Two: What to do?**

"You want me to _what_?" Roy asked, his voice full of disbelief as he stared at both Hawkeye and Fuhrer Bradley. Hawkeye coughed. "Sir, I think it would be best if you kept Edward in your home with you. The Fuhrer agrees with me." She said stoically, but Roy could swear he'd seen a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

Roy glanced over to the object of their conversation, blissfully unaware as he sat on the floor, drawing a blue dog with a marker Riza had given him. He groaned. "I _can't,_" he attempted to argue, "I don't know anything about kids. I'd probably indirectly kill him or something!"

But neither Riza nor the Fuhrer would hear any of it. And that's where Roy found himself, an hour later, with an entire month's leave and a four-year-old Edward sitting at his kitchen table eating donuts. He watched the child idly, mulling over the argument from earlier. How could he do this? A month's leave gave him plenty of time to find a fix for this problem. If he could, that is. He sighed and leaned his head in his hands.

"What's wrong, Mister Roy?" Edward asked around a mouthful of Donut. He'd considerably lightened up towards the colonel since that morning. That was one thing for the colonel to be thankful for. He was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he was going to have to take care of Ed. It just felt so..Odd. This child was very different from the Ed he knew. Trusting, cooperative, and generally well-behaved.

Roy mused on this, before realizing he should probably answer the kid, who was watching him patiently. "I'm just a little tired." He said, shrugging. Ed seemed to accept this. "Alright. Go to sleep?" He offered. Roy snorted. "I can't go to sleep until _you_ go to sleep." He said, glancing down at his watch. It was almost nine at night. Ed blinked, before yawning. "Well, we should go to sleep then..m'tired anyways.." He said, pushing away from the table. "Where am I sleeping?" He asked, leaning on the chair.

Roy blinked. He hadn't thought about that. "There's a couch in my room. Is that okay?" Roy asked. It'd have to for now, he figured. Ed nodded. "Yep." He answered, before following Roy out of the kitchen. Another thought struck Roy, but it passed too quick for him to really..notice it. Once he had Edward situated on the couch, he covered him with a blanket before heading over to his own bed to go to sleep. Tomorrow, he'd start working on getting this fixed.

Though, he had to admit. He kinda liked Edward like this.

* * *

"Mister Roy...?"

Roy groaned, rolling over to get away from the voice. A tiny finger jabbed him in the shoulder. "Mister Roy, you gotta get up. It's morning..." He tried again. Roy swatted lazily in his general direction. Edward crossed his arms, before deciding to take desperate measures. He climbed up onto the bed, before proceeding to jump up and down.

"WAKE UP! WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY!" He declared, before landing on his hindquarters and watching Roy. The man glared at him. "It's too early." He said, glancing at his alarm clock. Seven-thirty. Barely daylight. "I'm _off_, Ed! Can't I sleep in?" He asked, feeling oddly similar to a kid arguing with his parent about getting up early during spring break. Edward rolled his eyes, showing the first similarity to his older self.

Roy took this as a sign that Edward was no longer playing and sighed, before rolling out of bed. "Fine." He grouched. Edward brightened, following him out of the bedroom. "Hey, Mister Roy? Can I have a bath? I smell like old couch." He said, wrinkling his nose. Roy sighed. "That's..great. Yeah, I'll um... run you some water." He said, pausing. "You know how to bathe yourself, right?" He asked, turning. A slow grin formed over Ed's face. The kid nodded. Roy did _not_ like that grin, but for once in his life decided to ignore his gut feeling and went to run the water.

Fifteen minutes later, Ed was happily splashing around in the tub, effectively drenching the bathroom floor, and Roy was sitting in his study across the hall, reading through a book on alchemic reversal. Surely he could find something between now and next month. The last time he'd tried he was just tired and frustrated, and honestly, slightly panicked. But now he was in his own study, and the object of his concern was just fine.

Or at least, Roy thought he was. He leaned back in his chair and glanced out the door. Why had the splashing stopped? He squinted, frowning. "Edward?" He asked. He didn't get a response. He quickly got out of his chair and flew into the bathroom, only to find the tub empty. A small surge of relief hit him. At least he hadn't drowned, but where had he gone? He looked around confusedly.

He stopped in his reverie when he felt a hand tugging at his pants leg. He looked down, finding Edward next to him, hair dripping wet and wearing one of Roy's own sleep shirts. The black tee hung dangerously off of his left shoulder, the hem pooling around his feet. Hell, the sleeves practically went past his wrists. Roy couldn't help but grin. "Why are you wearing my shirt?" He asked amusedly, crouching.

Edward scrubbed his nose with a fist. "Don't have any clothes." He said, shrugging and smiling guiltily. Roy slapped his own forehead. D'oh! He'd totally forgotten to buy Edward some clothes. "Hmm. My next door neighbor has a son a little older than you. Let me go ask if I can borrow an outfit for you so we can go buy you some clothes, hmm?" He suggested. Edward nodded furiously, and Roy grinned before telling him to stay put for a few minutes.

He returned soon, handing over a pair of blue shorts and an orange T-shirt, as well as some underwear and socks. "The kid only has one pair of shoes, so I guess we'll get those while we're out too. And some..toys and crayons.." He mumbled the last part, but Edward still heard him, a rather bright smile crossing his face as he took the clothes and proceeded to dress.

Roy mused silently to himself on the way to the store, idly answering the multitude of questions that Edward was assaulting him with regarding the natural order of things. Why is the sky blue, what's a spork for, why can't I have a dog, and such on. It didn't take a lot of thought; Edward was an easily satisfied kid.

There were several things on Roy's mind. One, he was shelling out a good bit of commitment for this..kid, that honestly he barely knew. Sure, he knew it was Edward, but there were several other things involved. Had everything that happened to Ed really changed him that much, that he'd lost his almost..affectionate nature? As much as Roy hated the word, Edward was a really sweet kid. Quiet, even. He'd never even stopped to think about the true gravity of everything that'd happened to Ed. He'd always seemed strong, and Roy figured he could handle anything thrown at him.

He eventually stopped mulling over it once they reached the store, where they proceeded to pick up everything that they could both possibly think of, as well as Edward's favorite foods and books.

"Mm, how about we stop for lunch somewhere, huh?" He asked, glancing down at Ed. The boy nodded quickly, his free arm swinging back and forth. Flesh arm, Roy realized disturbedly. He came to an abrupt halt. How did this happen? Something wormed it's way into his head. That alchemy they were working..it made sense now, why the memories disappeared. The body was basically just...shoved back in time during the present. Drastically. "Damn.." He murmured softly.

Edward continued looking around, before frowning. "Are we there? I don't see a re..restur..aunt anywhere." He said, looking up at Roy. Roy shook himself. "No, no, I was just..thinking about something. Nothing important. Come on, let's go." He said, before tugging Edward along. Within minutes they made it to a cafe, and Roy ordered them each something to eat and drink before leaning his chin in his hands. "So, Edward. How does your right arm feel?" He asked curiously.

Edward looked down blankly. "Which one is right?" He asked, holding them both up. Roy tapped it. "That one." He said. Edward shrugged. "It's fine. Why?" He questioned, leaning back. Roy shrugged back at him. "No reason, you fell asleep on it weird." He lied. Edward nodded, before going back to unfolding and re-folding the napkin in front of him.

"Now that I think about it," Roy stated, causing Edward to look at him, "I don't really know you that well. How about I ask you some questions?" He asked, causing Ed to grin. "Yes!" He agreed, setting the napkins aside and folding his hands on the table in a professional manner. Roy actually laughed, before leaning back.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked. Edward didn't even have to think about it. "Red!" He said, grinning hugely. Roy snorted. _Go figure,_ he thought. "Alright.." he murmured, seeming to think. "Favorite ice cream flavor?" He asked, leaning his head in his hand. Edward remained silent for a seconds, before looking up. "Ummm, I think it's mint-chocolate-chip. But I like the caramely-swirly stuff too.." He said thoughtfully. Roy grinned. "Alright, don't hurt yourself thinking. How about animal?" He asked.

"Cat." Edward stated, arms crossed. This surprised Roy, seeing the amounts of cats that Ed had confiscated from Al and set loose over the years he'd known him. "I see." He answered, just as a waitress set their food and beverages on the table. "Well, let's go ahead and eat, huh?" he suggested, and the conversation drew to a close as they dug in.

They both filled their stomachs, before grabbing their respective bags and calling a taxi to take them the rest of the way home. Once there, Roy hung Edward's clothes up in the hallway closet and helped him open the toys. At the very least, they'd give him something to do. Edward seemed more interested in the books, though, opening one and sitting down. "Can you read this to me?" He asked, before holding it up.

Roy blinked and examined it. Goldylocks and the Three Bears. Hrm, he'd never actually read to anyone before. Eh, there was no harm in trying, he guessed. He sat down across from Ed and took it. "Alright..now, pay attention." He announced, before opening the book. "Once upon a time there were three bears. A papa bear, a Mama bear, and a baby bear." He read.

"How old was the baby bear?" Edward asked curiously. Roy faulted. "Uhm...your age." He said, shrugging. Edward nodded, and Roy continued. "One morning, they were all sitting around the table to eat breakfast. Mama bear had made porridge." He said. Edward once again voiced his thoughts. "What's Porridge?" He asked. Roy blinked. "Oatmeal, I believe." He said, before going back to the book.

"Papa bear tried his first. 'It's too hot!' he said. Mama bear decided to try hers. It was hot as well! So they all decided to go out on a walk while they waited for the porridge to cool. While they were out, a little girl who was walking through the woods smelled the porridge. She was very hungry, so she decided to ask if she could have some. However, there was nobody home. But the door was unlocked, so she let herself in." He said, applauding his ability to read aloud. All those speeches came in handy after all! Edward yawned. "Why did they leave the door unlocked, and, and why was she in the woods?" He asked.

Roy thought. "Well, they live in the woods, so I guess they don't think anyone will walk in. And maybe she was visiting someone, I don't know." Roy said, shrugging. Edward accepted the answer, leaning back on his palms. Roy continued reading.

"She made it into the kitchen, and tried some of the porridge from Papa bear's bowl. 'This is too hot!' she decided, and then moved to try some out of Mama bear's bowl. 'Brr, this is too cold!' she said, before moving onto baby bear's bowl. 'This porridge is just right!' she said, and ate it all."

"But then baby bear has nothing to eat! Won't he be sad?" Edward interrupted unhappily. Roy blinked perturbedly. "Well, maybe they can get takeout." He said, grinning as Edward laughed. He cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Once she finished the Porridge, she decided to explore the house. She saw three chairs, and decided she wanted to sit down. First she sat in Papa bear's chair. 'This chair is too big!' she exclaimed, so she sat in the second chair. 'This one is too big too!', and so she sat in baby bear's chair. 'This one is just right!' she said, but then it broke and she fell to the ground."

"Was she okay?" Edward asked.

"Well, it says here, 'She decided she didn't want to sit down anymore, so she went upstairs. There she found three beds, and noticing how tired she was, decided she'd go to sleep. She lay down in the first bed, and found it to be too hard. "Ouch!" she said, before getting up and trying the next bed. But it was too soft, and she almost couldn't get up. So she tried the third bed, and it was just right. So, she fell asleep."

"She fell asleep in their _house_?" Edward asked disbelievingly. Roy grinned. "she did." He agreed, before looking back down at the book.

"It was not very long after that the three bears returned home. 'Someone's been eating my porridge!' Papa bear said angrily. 'Someone's been eating _my _porridge!' Said mama bear. "Someone's been eating _my_ porridge, and it's all gone!" Baby bear said unhappily.["See?" Edward said, crossing his arms.] So they decided to skip breakfast and go sit in the den.

"'Someone's been sitting in my chair!' Papa bear said. 'Someone's been sitting in _my _chair!' Mama bear said. 'Someone's been sitting in _my_ chair, and they broke it!' baby bear wailed. Mama bear decided then that it was time for a nap. So they all went upstairs. 'Someone's been sleeping in my bed!' papa bear said. 'Someone's been sleeping in _my_ bed!' Mama bear said. 'Someone's been sleeping in _my_ bed, and she's still here!' Baby bear exclaimed. Goldlylocks woke up, saw the three bears, and screamed in fright. Then she ran away from the house to her momma, never to be seen by the three bears again." Roy finished.

He looked up, suddenly noticing the odd lack of comments from Edward's end. The boy had fallen asleep. Roy smiled a little, before closing the book and setting it down, picking the boy up and taking him to his room so he could sleep somewhere more comfortable. It was a good time for a nap anyways. He stretched, before heading out of the room and going into the living room in search of the phone.

Once he found it, he dialed Riza's home number. She usually went home for lunch, so he felt sure he'd catch her, seeing as it was barely an hour after noon.

She picked up moments later._ "Hello?"_

"Hello, lieutenant."

"_Sir. Any particular reason you're calling?"_

"Just to let you know how Edward is doing. I figured you might want to know."

"_Very thoughtful of you, sir."_

"Indeed. Anyways, he's actually a really good kid. I haven't had any trouble from him. He's...very different from his older self."

"_Well, considering all that he doesn't remember, I'm sure he is quite different.."_

"Yeah.. even when he was thirteen, he was still just a kid. I know I say he chose the military, and I'm very sure it was a well-thought-out decision on his part, but sometimes I wonder if it was really..right."

"_Are you having doubts, sir?"_

"Several." Roy answered honestly, a humorless laugh escaping his lips. "Although..I was thinking, lieutenant, he seems to like you. Do you think you could accept an offer for dinner at my place tomorrow?" He asked curiously. A foreign nervous feeling was locked away in his mind. It wasn't as easy to ask Riza such things as it was the other girls he took home with him.

There was a momentary pause. _"I suppose I could, sir."_ Riza answered, an amused tone lacing her voice. Roy grinned. "Good then. I'd say about..oh, six?" He asked, leaning back in his chair. Riza agreed, and the phone conversation ended.

Maybe there was an upside to Ed's little problem after all.

* * *

**Well, there we go! One more chapter from my insane track of mind. xD I don't know if the third chapter will come up as quick as this one, but it'll definitely be in less than a week or so. So keep on reviewing! It makes me type faster. XD Review-powered fingers. ZZT!**

**Joking aside, I'm really glad you guys reviewed. XD I was astonished at already having seven!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well guys, I know this chapter is shorter than the rest. It took me longer to update than I'd thought. XD I've been having a bit of family trouble and I'm sick. Dx The only reason I managed to get this up today is because I have to go meet with a surgeon so I can be scheduled for surgery (insert tears of joy here. -.-) and I don't know exactly when I'll be able to get chapter 4 up between that and holidays. -shudder- xD So yeah, it WILL get up, and maybe faster than this one, but I'm not sure on when. Anyways, I'm gonnsa stop ranting and get to the review replies! :D**

**FullmetalAddict: **Chyes I did! Dx -points it out-

**Fullmetal-Hurricane: **Yeah, Riza is actually one of my favorite characters. XD She's so damn... cool and stuff! I think it starts out as him thinking of her as Roy's date. Not sure. But she'll be around a lot and he'll get to thinking of her like a mother, I'm sure. And Roy's gonna have more than a handful after a little while.

**Forget and Forgive**: Thanks! XD Here it is.

**foreverforgotten5: **I know right? XD He's so unsure of what he's doing it's adorable. Here's the next chapter for you :3

**Atemu'slotus:** Of course he is! XD And his favorite color is so obvious; I coulda made it orange just to confuse people, but red is MY favorite color, so I had to pencil that in. :D And Ed actually sleeps in the room with Roy. XD So, locking the door wouldn't help him too much :P I don't think I made Ed say anything embarassing, but trust me, it'll come. XD

**Delia Ra'Nar: **They dissapeared! His body basically reversed. Like, went back to EXACTLY how it was when he was little. Kinda like it traveled back in time but stayed in the present. That's why his memories are gone, too. As far as him seeing Al..XD Well, let's just say it's gonna have to be accidental for sure.

**Torean: **I know XD Living with someone of Ed's age actually makes this way easier. Only, Ed is better behaved than the one I live with lD And duh! Roy's caring side has to be forcefully pulled out of him every now and then by us authors!

**annoyed by you: **XD Nice name! And glad you like it! Here's chapter 3 :D

**Night-Childe25: **Oooh, he WILL get attatched. XD Who wouldn't? I'm still toying around with whether or not he'll get his memories back, so you'll know when I know! :D

**pen196: **Thanks! XD Here's the next chapter :3

**Ali Phantom:** I'm thinking that if I bring it back, it'll all come back at once. XD It'd make things sligthly less confusing.

**Narutolovesme2:** Thanks! XD And I did :D Here is isssss.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Settling in**

Roy ended up having to wake Ed around three. The boy was not very nice when he didn't wake up on his own, Roy decided. He'd ended up in an argument with the little one almost five minutes after getting him up.

"I don't WANT to wear that!" Ed yelled, glaring at the white button-up shirt and khaki pants that Roy held and stomping his foot.

"I don't care if you want to wear it or not, that's not _relevant_!" Roy barked, attempting to catch Edward so he could wrestle the clothes onto him, but the child was faster than him, and ran from the room, resulting in a chase around the house until the man caught him.

"There. See? It wasn't that bad." Roy said, panting as he finally got the clothes onto the irate boy. Edward crossed his arms and humphed, looking away from Roy. The man sighed and stood.

"Look.. just..be good for a while, okay? I have to clean the house and start cooking because the lieutenant is coming over for dinner." He said, running a hand through his hair.

Edward regarded him with a minimal amount of curiosity, before getting up and wandering away from him wordlessly. Taking this as a..somewhat good sign, Roy commenced in cleaning. It didn't take long; the house usually stayed clean, and Edward was, thankfully, a clean child.

Once he was finished cleaning, he started cooking. He wasn't sure what the lieutenant liked, so he played it safe and made roast chicken over a bed of rice, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon squash.

He was working on the dessert when Edward walked in, grabbing onto the counter and standing on tip-toes to see what he was doing. "What are you making?" He asked, hopping on his toes.

Roy blinked, looking down to his left. "Making Dessert." He said tonelessly, before going back to it. Edward frowned. "But we haven't eaten dinner yet!" He said. Roy sighed.

"We won't be able to eat it after dinner if I don't have it made before then." He said flatly. Edward gave him a confused look. "Are you mad at me?" He asked, a dreading tone to his voice. Roy stopped to think.

"...A little." He said, shrugging. Edward studied the counter top. "Can I make it better?" He asked. Roy shook his head. "No. I'll get over it, Edward. Don't worry." He said, adding cinnamon to the batter he was working on and tasting it.

"D'you like pumpkin?" He asked suddenly, looking down. Edward rose a brow comically. "Never had it." He said. Roy scooped some out into a spoon and handed it to him. Edward tasted it. "...Needs more sugar." He said, before handing it back. Roy snorted.

"It'll taste sweeter when It's done cooking. Trust me, I've made it before." He said, giving the bowl a final stir and pouring it into a rectangular pan. "What is it, anyways?" Edward asked, studying it. "It's cinnamon pumpkin cake. It's going to have cream cheese frosting." He said, leaning back against the counter after putting it in the oven.

Edward eyed the bowl, and Roy managed to get the message and handed it to him. "Don't get dirty. You know what hell I went through getting those clothes onto you." He said darkly, causing Ed to give him a cheeky grin before hopping over to the table to give the bowl a thorough cleaning.

It was another half hour before Riza showed up, which was plenty of time to finish the dessert and get the food onto the table. Edward ran for the door first, but Roy managed to make it there and yank him back before he could turn the knob. "No!" Roy protested to the smirking boy, grabbing the knob himself and opening the door, planting a grin on his face. "Evening, Lieutenant." He said.

Riza studied him, before coming to a decision and smiling warmly. "It's Riza after work hours, sir." She said, before shuffling past him and pulling her coat off. Roy blinked perturbedly for a moment, before nodding. "And I guess that would make me Roy." He said, taking her coat and hanging it on the rack by the closet. Edward glanced between them.

"Am I still Edward?" He asked worriedly. Riza and Roy shared a look, before laughing. "Yes, Edward." Roy said, putting a hand on the blonde's head only to have it shrugged off and batted at.

The colonel rolled his eyes before showing Riza to the table. Once they were all comfortably seated, Edward eyed the chicken. "Do I get to carve the turkey?" He asked, grinning. Roy blinked for a moment before shaking his head.

"It's a chicken, Edward. And even if it were a turkey, you wouldn't be allowed to carve it. You'd carve your arm off in the process." He said bluntly, before feeling a kick at his foot. He realized his mistake seconds later, but Edward evidently didn't, thankfully. _Well, duh..no memories.._ he thought.

The rest of dinner passed smoothly, much to Roy's credit. He managed to not majorly mess anything up, and the food was actually decent. Thus, they moved on to dessert.

"And what exactly is it?" Riza asked, eying the orange coloring of the cake suspiciously. Edward coughed. "It's a cinnamon pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting." He recited, causing Roy to give him an impressed look. Edward grinned. "I helped lick the bowl!" He said.

Riza turned to grin at Roy, who looked down, his ears turning pink. "I had to make it up to him somehow." He mumbled. Riza quirked a brow. "Make what up to him?" She asked curiously. Roy explained the morning's fiasco and she gave him an amused look. "I see." Was all she said, before taking a bite of the cake. "It's good." She praised.

And thus, dinner was survived, if only barely for Roy.

"Explain to me again why I have to do this." Roy groaned, holed up in his office with Riza, a phone, and a sleeping Edward. Riza sighed. "He has to know, Roy. You can't say he deserves to be over there completely unaware when this is happening. You don't really know if you'll get Edward back to normal, sir." She said seriously, leaning on his desk. Roy sighed.

"I guess you're right.." He mumbled, grabbing the phone and pausing to look through his desk for the Rockbell's number. Once he found it, he dialed.

It wasn't long before someone picked up. "Rockbell's." Winry greeted distractedly, muttering something to someone in the background. Roy coughed. "Yes. This is Colonel Mustang. May I speak to Alphonse?" He asked, drumming his fingers on the desk as Riza watched.

"Is everything okay? Why haven't we heard from Ed lately?" She asked. Roy sighed. "He's..got a few..small problems at the moment. But he's okay, I guess." He said honestly. There was a pause, before Winry seemed to grudgingly accept his answer and Alphonse was on the phone.

"Sir?" The boy asked, sounding both curious and slightly worried. Roy frowned. "Alphonse, what I'm about to tell you needs to stay secret. Don't tell anyone, not even Winry." He said, leaning on his desk. "Okay." The boy answered. Roy sighed.

"Well, during the last mission, Edward got into a little bit of..trouble. Don't panic, but he's kind of...changed. The alchemists at the lab were working on a way to become immortal. They got ahold of Ed and..well...let's just say that now he could be considered your _younger_ brother." He finished flatly, the words coming out rather fast.

But Alphonse seemed to catch them all. "Okay...Let me get this straight. You and Ed got into trouble [not a surprise], but this time something happened to turn brother...younger?" He asked, a confused tone to his voice. Roy blinked at the fact that he seemed to be taking it rather well.

"..Yes. That about sums it up. I'd say he's around...four? I'm not totally sure though. When I asked him he tried to tell me he was 21." He said flatly. Alphonse just snorted. "Yeah, that sounds like Brother." He said, giving a small laugh.

Roy fidgeted. "You're..taking this rather well." He commented. He heard Alphonse heave a sigh. "Well, I guess I just think that there's no point in panicking over it..because it can probably be fixed, right?" He asked hopefully.

Roy raised his eyebrows. "I intend to do everything in my power to get him back to normal, yes." He answered. "Then that's all we can do, sir." Alphonse said seriously. Roy'd forgotten about Al's optimism. It made him feel a little better.

"You're right, Alphonse. Well, I'm going to go get him ready for bed." He mumbled, watching as Edward rolled over in his sleep to get more comfortable.

"He's staying with you?" Al asked curiously. Roy nodded. "Yeah." He answered, drumming his fingers on the desk again as Ed watched him. "But..I don't think it'd be good for him to talk to-"

"Oh, I know. Don't worry about it. Take care of him, colonel." Alphonse said, before hanging up on his line. Roy did as well and sighed. "I think he took it rather well." He said, glancing down at Ed. Riza nodded. "I could have told you he would. Now let's get this boy to bed." She said, leaning down and gently picking Edward up.

Roy could tell she was taking _quite_ a bit of joy from the whole Edward's-a-little-kid thing. He followed her to his room, where she laid him on the couch-turned-bed and pulled a blanket over him. "He really is rather harmless like this, isn't he?" She asked, crossing her arms. Roy snorted. "No." He said bluntly, before turning and stalking from the room.

Riza rolled her eyes, but she'd caught the joking tone Roy'd said it in. She quietly followed him out of the room, closing the door behind her. They both headed down to the living room, where Roy sat on the couch. "Would you like some wine?" He asked, folding his hands behind his head. Riza watched him.

"I'll think about it." She answered, moving to sit on the couch as well. The two of them conversed for a few hours, in which Roy managed to get her to drink a little wine. Thankfully not enough to impair her driving. After she left, Roy headed back to his room to sleep. He needed to be up early from now on, it seemed.

Ed was definitely changing things, and Roy couldn't decide if it was for the better or not.

* * *

**Well, there we go. XD I can't thank you guys enough for your reviews and alerts and everything :'3 They make me so HAPPY! And they make me feel way better, which is definitely a good thing. xD **


	4. Chapter 4

**What... D: What did I do to deserve THIRTY REVIEWS?! YOU GUYS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! I EXPECTED BETTER!**

**..Yeah, just kidding. I actually almost fainted when I saw the number from sheer joy D:' I must be doing something right! :DDD It..makes me so happy... ;-; -sniffles-**

**And I figured out that my surgery is on the 8th. -shudders- So, around then, you won't be seeing much from me. XD Sorry guys!**

**Anyways..I'ma shut up now and reply to you peeps. n.n**

**FullmetalAddict:** Silly :P I would have had you read it, but you were sleeeping. SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK :O

**Mrawgirl09: **YES. You do want to snuggle him. XD No killing him, because then I'd have to go find another kid to pose as little Ed :( That was the cutest one I could find. -shrugs-

**Annoyed by you: **XD It was Riza. I think I would have done the same, honestly.

**CrimsonVixen333: **And here I am, updating! :D Thanks for reading!

**Torean: **...-pulls into a disco dance- GROOVY, BABY~ XD And yeah, I could have seen him saying that. :D It seemed..perfecto at the time.

**ForeverForgotten5: **Thank you! :'D I'm glad you care. XD Of course you have to care, I'm the one supplying you with new chapters ;O

**Orange Singer: **I guess I didn't think about that. o.O This is AU anyways, so I guess it's..okayish and stuff. 9.9 I'm basing most of his..erm, personality and attitude and actions off of my niece. She's five, so it makes everything easier. XD

**Orange Singer: **XD Of course he would tell him he's 21! At least he doesn't do like my niece. She tells everyone she's 40. -dies- As for the Alphonse thing, I'm not sure yet if he quite realizes the gravity of the situation. XD It may hit or it may not; I'm not great with huge dramatic "OH MY GOD" moments. :O I'll end up having to be, though, by the end of this, methinks.

**Horselvr4evr123: **Yes, yes. XD Most children, I find, dislike wearing clothes o.O I can't begin to fathom WHY. XD We'll just have to see about Roy.. -shifty glances- Hmm..yes, I see torture ahead...

**Atemu'sLotus: **Of course~! :D Thanks for the review n.n

**Narutolovesme2: **XD I'm glad you did! That means you'll love this chapter, because I just feel that I haven't tortured Roy quite to my liking :P

**Kyo's Only 1: **Thanks! Here's the new chapter! :]

**Vi-Vioilence:** Thanks! :D

**Song of inspiration: Blue Foundation - Eyes on Fire [2]

* * *

**

**Chapter Four: This is Life  
**

"Rwoy."

"..Rwoy."

"......Rwooooyyyy."

"MISTER MUSTANG!" Edward yelled, launching himself at the man's chair and clinging onto the back of it. Roy yelped, startled out of his thoughts.

"Ed!" He barked, twisting his head back around to glare at the blonde. "I'm _working_ on something!" he growled.

Edward dropped to the ground, crossing his arms. "I'm alone." He ground out, small eyes overshadowed by the angry expression on his face. Roy sighed.

"Look, just find some way to entertain yourself until I'm done, okay?" He asked pleadingly.

Edward frowned, but whirled around and left the room without further comment. He stalked through the house, pausing when he heard Mustang's office door close. He kicked idly at the sofa, before reaching over and shoving the magazines off of Mustang's coffee table.

Oddly enough, it made him feel better. The books on the shelf came next. Then the odd things on Mustang's desk. Then the papers in the drawers. Then the cushions off the couch. And soon, the whole house was..pretty much destroyed.

Edward sighed, shoulders drooping as he surveyed the chaos he'd created. Gold eyes swiveled from the living room to the kitchen. He shivered slightly as he thought of what Mustang would do to him when he saw.

Slowly, he eyed the front door. Surely if he hid he could avoid such trouble? He quietly sneaked over to the door, opening it as silently as possible and stepping out of the house. One little walk wouldn't hurt...

He wandered down the porch, down the driveway, through the yard, and out onto the sidewalk. He didn't dare cross the street though. His mother had drilled it into his head that it was a very, very, very bad idea. And so, he found his venture taking him through the suburbs, keeping to his side of the street and wandering off.

* * *

It had been almost an hour and a half. Roy surveyed his work with a frown. There was something he wasn't getting; How was he supposed to get Edward back to normal if he couldn't even formulate a plan?! Speaking of Edward, the child had been eerily silent since leaving the room almost two hours before. He frowned.

Slowly, he got up and left the room, only to find himself appalled moments later when he found his living room and kitchen destroyed. He searched the house for Ed, fairly intent on giving him a good yelling-at. He'd possibly hit him.

However, after a few moments, the anger melted away to apprehension as he realized he couldn't find the boy. His search became frantic, before he noticed the front door wasn't closed the entire way. He threw it open and looked out, but Edward was nowhere to be seen.

He'd quite obviously left.

Mustang heaved a sigh of weary exhaustion. Surely he couldn't have gone too far? He wasn't laying dead out in the street, anyway. From what Roy could see. Shaking off such a thought, he set out to look for him.

* * *

Edward wandered past a few cluttered-looking shops, eyes taking in the objects with fascination. It was slightly chilly outside, and he shivered, only wearing a pair of green shorts and a white sleeveless shirt.

He trailed his fingers over one of the windows, stopping outside of a pet store. He stood on tippy-toes, smiling at the group of puppies romping with each other at the front window. One caught Edward's eye, though.

It was caged into the back corner, all by itself, head rested on it's paws. It's eyes were drooping tiredly with sleepiness, leaking some form of goo.

It's fur was a light shade of grey, almost blue. It's tail and ears were black, as well as a patch over it's right eye. It's feet were white. It's ears twitched, and it studied Edward with the same amount of interest that he was showing it.

Edward didn't know much about animals, but he could tell it was sick. Very much so, even. It's back rose in an uneven rhythm, a definite sign of labored breathing. Even if Edward didn't know this, he could tell something was wrong.

He jumped as he felt a hand grab his arm, unwillingly whirling on the spot to face a very irate-looking Roy Mustang. Oh dear...

"What do you think you were doing?!" The colonel barked, his eyes absolutely livid. "You could have gotten killed out here! Or worse!" The man was shaking, and the boy felt tears collect in his own eyes as well. He started wailing, Roy's anger obviously scaring him to some degree.

The colonel deflated, his frown turning deeper as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry." He muttered. "I was just worried." Over Edward? It happened a lot, actually. The boy sniffled, arms crossed almost protectively over his chest. Roy sighed. "Why did you destroy my house?" He asked.

Edward frowned. "I was mad." He answered simply.

The answer was good enough, and Roy straightened. "We're going home." He said flatly, grabbing Edward's hand and starting to drag him off.

"Wait!" Edward yelled, tugging against Roy's grip. Roy paused.

"What?" He asked, exasperated. Edward glanced back at the window, frowning.

"What's wrong with the puppy?" He asked, pointing at the one in the back.

Roy eyed it for a second. "It's sick. Can we leave now?" He asked.

The child paused. "...Is he going to die?" He asked quietly, looking down. Something inside of Roy turned ice cold and dropped.

"..If nobody takes care of him, he will." He answered honestly. He wasn't going to sugar-coat it; he'd never been very good at that. Edward would surely be able to tell if he'd told him it was fine in the most chipper voice possible.

Edward flinched. "What if nobody does?" He asked, sounding borderline panicky. Roy's eyebrows rose.

"Then it wasn't meant to make it." He said, tugging impatiently on Edward's hand. Ed growled and jerked his hand away.

"We have to help it." He announced, going back to the window. Roy stiffened.

"No. We are NOT getting a dog. Especially not one that's sick." He said. He didn't even know if Edward was going to be like this for very long; a dog was a giant leap of commitment! What if he cured Ed soon? Then he would be stuck with it!

"..Please?" Ed asked, brows furrowed and lips turned down at the corners as he gazed up at Roy. The colonel faltered. The kid looked so...pitifully, irrevocably...sad. He coughed.

"..We'll see." He mumbled, dragging Edward into the store. Edward brightened a bit, following him.

The owner was wiping down the counters as Roy walked in, looking up.

"Can I help you? We were just about to close." The man said, obviously hoping they'd leave. Roy coughed.

"I just wanted to ask about that dog in the front. What's wrong with it?" He asked. The store owner frowned.

"I'm not sure. I had a vet come out and check him and she couldn't figure it out." He said, shrugging. Roy sighed.

"How much is he?" He asked, doubt crushing his every word. The Older man paused, seeming to think.

"..His original price would have been fifty, considering he's only a mutt. But considering his condition...I'm willing to lower it to twenty-five." He said, leaning against the counter.

Roy deliberated for a second, looking down at Edward's hopeful face. Something told him he'd do anything to keep the expression from earlier away. "..I'll take him." He said, feeling doom lace every single syllable from the statement. He shuddered.

Edward's grip on his hand tightened in thanks.

* * *

"What are we gonna name him?" Edward asked, looking up at Roy from his spot beside him in the taxi. The small puppy was curled up in Edward's lap, it's exhausted form actually appearing quite comfortable under Edward's slightly rough ministrations. Roy would have to teach him the necessity of gentleness, it seemed.

"It's up to you." He said flatly, still not overly pleased with the turn of events. Edward looked down.

"I wanna name him.." He paused. His thoughts continued for almost ten minutes, and when he spoke it startled Roy out of his thoughts completely, almost causing him to yelp. But he kept it in.

"Wolf!" He exclaimed.

Roy blinked. "What?" He asked, thoroughly confused. Edward rolled his eyes.

"I wanna name him Wolf." He said. Roy paused, but nodded. It was..fitting, anyways.

"Don't pet him so rough. He's sick, remember? You have to be really careful." He muttered, stilling one of Edward's hands and letting it go after showing him for a few seconds.

Edward nodded mutely. "'Kay." He said, watching the puppy with a wistful expression. "I'll make you better." He promised, smiling slightly to himself. Roy felt his own eyes roll.

"We'll see." He muttered pessimistically. He could see Edward sticking his tongue out at him from the corner of his eye. Lovely.

When they got home, Roy ordered that they both work to clean up Edward's destruction while the new pet slept in his room. Edward had no qualms about this, cheerfully going about putting things back where he'd seen them and making sure they were nice and neat.

Roy could practically feel the obsessive compulsive disorder floating around in the air.

Edward paused as he righted a stack of magazines, frowning. "Roy, what are we gonna feed Wolf?" He asked, tilting his head. Roy continued stacking figures on the desk.

"I guess I'll give him some hot dogs until we can buy dog food." He grumbled, glancing over as Edward shot for the kitchen to do just that. The enthusiasm was practically infectious. Roy got up from his kneeling position and followed him.

After they made it to Roy's room, they both watched the puppy eat in almost morbid fascination. "I think he likes it." Edward said. Roy nodded numbly. They were going to be out of hot dogs very soon, it seemed...

* * *

**Time skip, about four months – Early December

* * *

  
**

"WOLF! Give me back my truck!" Edward yelled, chasing after the dog through the back yard. Wolf danced away from him, leaping over a potted plant and tripping over his own feet to hide behind Roy, who was chatting with Riza about plans for dinner.

Edward growled, stopping a few feet away. "Mister Roy," He said, voice and face dead serious, "Stop protecting that dog."

Roy paused, looking down at him, and then burst out laughing. "It's just a truck, Ed! You have several of them." He tried to console the boy, but Edward wanted no part of it.

"I want _that_ one." He said, pointing at the mass of plastic and rubber hanging from Wolf's mouth. The puppy, which had grown quite well over the past couple of months, was rather...enthusiastic when it came to making Edward angry.

Roy sighed and crouched down. "Wolf, can I have the truck?" He asked. This conversation wasn't new to the dog; he dropped the slobber-covered vehicle into Roy's hand and trotted over to lay down by Riza's feet.

Roy grimaced and handed the truck back to Edward, who gave it a disgusted look and dropped it. "He always does that.." He complained, shoulders slumping. Roy grinned.

"You're the one who wanted him." He reasoned. Though, loath as he was to admit it, Roy was quite fond of the canine himself. He really was a good dog.

He coughed as Edward kicked the truck across the ground and ignored it in favor of the thin layer of snow covering the ground. "Anyways.." He mumbled, glancing over at the now, rather amused looking Riza.

"I was thinking something simple. I don't even know if he knows it's his birthday in a month."**[1]** He said, rolling his eyes.

Riza yawned. "Why can't we just celebrate it on Christmas? We could always ask him what his mother did." She said, shrugging. Roy sighed.

"I hate bringing that up, though..he always asks when he's going to get to see her again." He mumbled, crossing his arms.

Riza sighed. "I'll ask him." She offered, before wandering over to Edward. "Hey Ed? When did your mother celebrate your birthday?" She asked, crouching slightly so she could be eye level with him. Edward glanced up.

"On my birthday." He said simply, shrugging. Riza blinked. "Well, we were thinking of celebrating it on Christmas. Is that okay with you?" She asked, tilting her head. Edward nodded once. "Yep!" He said, shoving a small portion of snow into a pile.

Riza blinked. Well, that had been a lot easier than she'd counted on. She made her way back over to Roy. "He said it was okay. I think we should go in now. It's getting cold and his face is getting red." She said, heading towards the back door. Roy sighed, and whistled, causing both boy and dog to look up. "We're going in!" Roy shouted, turning towards the door.

"Awww! I wanna stay out longer!" Edward complained, sniffling as he followed Roy. Wolf careened in ahead of them, happy to be back in the warm house again. Roy shook his head.

"No, Ed. We need to go in." He said, standing by the open door to wait. Ed grumbled under his breath, but did as he was told and followed Wolf's paw steps into the house.

He quickly shed his coat and gloves, followed by boots and scarf. He kicked them all next to the door, and careened after the dog to give him proper punishment for his earlier actions.

"So.." Roy murmured as he made it into the kitchen, going through the fridge. "What should we have for dinner?" He asked. Riza coughed. "I love your cooking, Roy, but I was thinking we could...go somewhere." she offered, tone guarded. Roy glanced up.

"Where did you have in mind?" He asked curiously, raising up from his inspection of the bottom shelf and closing the door to the cooling unit. Riza pursed her lips.

"There's a new restaurant a couple of miles into mid-central. It's pretty fancy, but I heard that the prices aren't that bad." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Roy contemplated for a few minutes, before nodding. He cracked a grin. "_You_ get to control Edward." He promised, before leaving the kitchen to change into more appropriate attire.

Riza's mouth fell open, before it quickly shut to form an accepting smirk. "Fine," She called, voice smug, "But you get to put him to bed!"

A groan was heard shortly afterwards; in the passing months, Edward had become a nightmare when it came to going to bed. And he used to be so good about it...

Riza sighed after a moment. Good thing she'd thought ahead; she was already dressed appropriately. "Edward! Come on and get dressed. We're going out to eat." She said as she passed the child.

Edward gravitated over to her, bouncing on his heels. "Yess!" He hissed, grabbing onto her hand and tugging on it. "You're going, right?" He asked, looking up with raised eyebrows.

Riza matched his expression. "Didn't I just say 'we're'?" She questioned, causing his grin to widen.

"Oh! That's right!" He said, before speeding ahead of her to the closet they kept his clothes in. "Are they gonna have cake? I like cake. But Roy doesn't. Can you believe that? I didn't think anyone could not like cake! He's so _weird._" He complained, digging through the assortment. He pulled out a white button-down shirt and a pair of black pants. "How about this?" He asked, holding it up.

Riza studied it. "Hmm.. a little too formal, but it'll do." She said, nodding. Edward raced off to get dressed on that note. Heh.. Sometimes, it seemed, he didn't mind. She straightened as Roy appeared in the doorway behind her, turning. She quirked a brow.

"You and Edward on a wavelength?" She asked, surveying his black pants and white button-up shirt. Only, his was tucked in. Roy looked confused for a moment, before Edward appeared at Riza's side.

"Oh." He said simply. "Well, that's new."

* * *

"Wow." Roy grunted as they pulled up in front of the restaurant; it was huge. Riza just grinned smugly to herself as she got out of the car, followed by both of them. They made it inside, quickly being showed to a table by one of the hostesses.

Edward looked around with wide eyes, his wonder more apparent than Roy's, who tried to keep his gaze at a moderately intrigued level. "You sure know how to pick em', Riza." He mumbled under his breath, taking in the intricate lighting.

They were soon seated, Riza and Roy carrying on a hushed conversation as Edward ran his fingers over the odd texture of the table. He glanced up as a waitress stepped over to them, pen in one hand and pad of paper in the other. "What can I get you?" She asked, surveying them all.

Roy paused, glancing down at the menu. "Can you give us a second?" He asked, having completely forgotten about his choice of food. The waitress nodded. She then paused. "Oh, god, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lacey, and I'll be your waitress for the evening." She said, smiling nervously.

Riza smiled back at her kindly. "It's okay. Are you new?" She asked, her order already memorized. But she was going to be nice and let Roy order first. Edward ignored all three of them, studying his menu with unnecessary intensity.

The waitress nodded. "Yep. I've been here a few days, actually." She ran her fingers through her hair, a short, straight bob of dark red. It fell just past her chin, bangs swept behind her ears. A pair of dark-framed glasses were settled on the bridge of her nose, half-hiding a set of sharp, muddy-brown eyes that were flecked with an almost red color.

"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." Riza told her, offering another smile. The girl chuckled, an oddly nervous sound mixed with relief. "Thanks. Some of the customers here haven't been as kind." She said.

At that point, Roy looked up. "I'd like the Big House Steak. Medium-rare." He said, continuing to study the menu. "With a baked potato and coffee." He finished, nodding once. Edward frowned.

"Can I have Apple Juice? And...Oh, wait. Girls first!" He said, quickly clamping a hand over his mouth and looking at Riza expectantly. She laughed quietly. "Hmm, I think I'll have the garlic chicken and the herb-mix pasta. And a small salad on the side, and iced tea. Unsweetened."

The waitress nodded, scribbling furiously, before looking over at Edward and beaming. "You're rather dashing tonight, aren't you? Apple Juice, you said?" She asked, pausing. Edward nodded. "What else would you like?" She asked, going into full-blown waitress mode, nervousness forgotten. Edward looked down at the menu.

"Um....Cake?" He offered. Roy rolled his eyes. "You can have cake Later, Ed." He mumbled, leaning his chin in his hand.

Edward frowned. "Fine. Sketti?" He tried, fingers tapping on the table. The waitress nodded. "I think we can handle spaghetti." She murmured to herself, capping her pen and smiling. "Alright. I'll be back soon with your orders." She promised, dancing off back towards the kitchens.

As soon as they were done with dinner, Edward demanded cake. And he _got_ cake. So much so that he was sick when they drove out of the parking lot, complaining under his breath in the backseat of the car. "Why did you let me?" He groaned, hands over his stomach. Roy snorted. "I didn't have a choice in the matter. You threatened to dump your drink on that waitress." He mumbled.

Edward had been a nightmare after they finished dinner. He'd threatened the waitress, run around the tables and hid in places Roy couldn't find him. All in all, neither were in a good mood. Riza, however, was highly amused.

"I'm glad you find this funny, lieutenant." Roy grouched, crossing his arms. Riza only smiled. "More so than you can imagine, sir." She said, pulling into Roy's driveway. They all piled out of the car, and Roy quickly got Edward to bed, threatening him with more cake if he dared utter a single peep.

It seemed to shut him up nicely.

Wolf followed him into the living room, curling up at Riza's feet as she made herself comfortable in an armchair. Roy heaved a sigh as he sank into the couch. "Remind me to never want kids." He mumbled. Riza rolled her eyes and got up to sit beside him.

Wolf gave her a pitiful look, before getting up and trotting into the kitchen. The dog was outgrowing itself, almost. It looked like a half-grown collie, odd tufts of fur sticking out about it's ears, neck and head. It's limbs and tail were long. He often tripped over his own feet.

"Don't say that. You never know. One day you might find someone special that you _want_ to have kids with." She reasoned, leaning back into the couch. Roy glanced over at her. "Hm." The response was neither affirmative, nor did it totally deny.

"Fine. Just.. not kids like _Edward._" He mumbled, resting a hand over his eyes. Riza peeled it off. "Headache?" She asked. Roy nodded. She sighed and shifted, carefully applying pressure to his temples. "Do you mind?" She asked curiously. Roy shrugged.

She nodded and started to ease the knots out of the muscles around his head, working over the stiffness around his jaw and down his neck. Roy groaned. "I should hire you to do this every day." He mumbled, feeling his head lop to the side.

Riza laughed. "I don't know if I'd be able to put up with doing it every day." She said, pursing her lips to keep from smiling. Roy snorted softly. "I think you could." He mumbled under his breath. She didn't hear him.

Once she was done, she leaned back, and Roy did as well, watching her. "I've been thinking." He ventured. Riza rose both eyebrows. "And?" She questioned.

Roy glanced over at Wolf as the dog moved back into the living room, averting his gaze. "Just that it seems you're over here a lot. And...I..was wondering if..maybe.." He mumbled something, and Riza quirked a brow. "What?" She asked, frowning.

"I was wondering if...if you wanted a relationship," He said, quickly plowing onwards, "You know, nothing serious, and we don't have to, but it just seemed like a good idea because you're the smartest and strongest woman I know, and Ed actually likes you even as he is now and--" He silenced himself as she rolled her eyes and shoved a couple of fingers over his lips.

"Yes, Roy." She said, smirking. "I'd like that." She said, dropping her hand. Roy seemed to relax. "Thank god." He muttered. Riza chuckled. "Well.." She murmured, trailing off.

Roy coughed. "I was thinking we could set up a date..you know, just both of us. Without Ed. I could get Fuery to babysit." He said, smirking. Riza smirked as well. "That should be an interesting pick-up." She said, already thinking of the ways that Edward was going to make poor Kain's life hectic in just one day.

"So.." The colonel mumbled, leaning back into the couch once more. "When should we set up this...date?" He asked curiously.

Hawkeye shrugged. "My guess is as good as yours, Roy." She said, grinning wickedly. Roy rolled his eyes; so, it was up to him, it seemed.

"I say..this weekend? Sunday?" He offered. "Somewhere around 6:30, I think." He added. Riza nodded.

"That sounds good. As far as I know, Kain has nothing planned. So I guess it's set." She said, rising from the couch and stretching. "I'll see you then, I guess." She said, smiling as she retrieved her coat and shrugged it on.

After a few parting words, she was gone. Roy sighed and stood, stretching and wincing at the sound of the pops coming from his back. "Aahh, I'm getting old." He mumbled, turning and nearly having a heart attack as he spotted Edward staring at him.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, his tone accusatory. Edward paused, hand rested on top of Wolf's head. "I couldn't sleep." He said quietly. Roy sighed. "What do you want me to do?" He asked warily. He couldn't really help. Or so he thought.

"Read me a story." Edward mumbled sleepily, before turning and heading back down the hallway, hauling Wolf by the Collar. Roy blinked. "Oi.." He mumbled, before going to do as he was told. He could handle it.

* * *

**Alright. God knows I'm not going to have another chapter up for a while, so I tried to make this one kinda.. longer than the rest XD Not sure I succeeded. 9.9 I guess I'll find out. **

**1: I'm not entirely sure when Edward's birthday is. XD I know it's during the snow season, so I'm leaving it around there.**

**2: A really good song. XD You should listen to it. n.n**

**Anyways :D Thanks for reading so far guys. I'll try to get back from recovery as soon as possible. :D Until then...**


	5. Chapter 5

**You know I was kidding when I said you should be ashamed of yourselves? XD Yeah.**

**Anyways..yuh, review replies :O**

**NarutoLovesMe2: **I'm really glad you liked it! :D I had fun writing it. XD For sure! And if he'd dumped apple juice on her, she'd probably have thrown her pen at him. XD Maybe.

**Annoyed by you: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. And I recovered well; I think so, at least xD Hehehe.

**Atemu's Lotus: **Oh! Cool! I was right! XD AND I KNOW RIGHT? HE FINALLY MAKES A MOVE. XD Hahahah. ...And yes, he is cute. n.n

**Torean:** Shhh! XD I figured you'd catch it. Yes, I'm one of THOSE nerds, but it was just.. oooh so tempting. XD Hehehe. And yesh :3 Yay for RoyAi! And...Edward's always cute xD But I would love to carry him around with me too.

* * *

**Song of inspiration: Black Cat – Mayday Parade**

**Okay, so. Here's the deal. XD After surgery I felt like crap for a while, then got terrible writer's block, and among all that there was HOLIDAY STUFF. Sooo, that's why this took so long. I'll try to get back on schedule again soon, so there shouldn't be another wait this long again. n.n; Also, MAJOR thanks to Torean for helping me get over my writer's block. Her suggestions were exactly what I needed, and it's mostly thanks to her that you're even reading this today. XD**

* * *

**So, enjoy!!**

**Chapter Five: The Date**

Roy frowned as he studied his reflection in the mirror; there were two hours before the actual date, but he wanted to be ready. Perfectly ready. He combed his hair in another direction for the fifth time, trying to decide if it looked better or worse. "Ahh, why am I so worried?" He mumbled aloud, and jumped nearly a foot off the ground as a pair of socks hit him in the back of the head.

"It's 'cause she's a girl!" Edward decided for him, crossing his arms. "Are you guys gonna kiss?" He suddenly asked, smirking. Roy sputtered for a good minute, before promptly shoving Edward out of the room.

"Stay out of here until we leave!" He practically roared, scowling as the child giggled and launched himself down the hallway. Roy sighed, before closing the door and heading back to inspect himself in the mirror once again.

* * *

"Sheska, I am NOT wearing that." Riza said determinedly, her arms crossed over her chest almost self-consciously as she glared at the hot-pink disaster of a dress. "Not only is it NOT my color, it's also completely hideous." She said, frowning.

Sheska sighed. "Riza, you don't own anything else that's very formal. Where are you guy going, anyways?" She asked curiously.

Riza sighed. "I don't know. He just told me to dress nice." She said, shrugging and leaning back on her palms. Sheska grimaced. "..Ugh, why don't we just go out and buy something?" She asked, giving the wardrobe a disapproving look. "Honestly.." She muttered under her breath. Riza grinned.

"We could." She decided, before standing. "Alright, let me just--"

"Oooh! Wait, this is perfect!" Sheska suddenly squealed, before extricating a black dress from the closet. It was halter-top and had a tie around the middle, the bow meeting together under a black rose on the left hip area. "I wonder why I didn't notice it before.." Sheska muttered to herself. Riza's eyebrows rose.

"I could have sworn I threw that out." She muttered. Sheska grinned. "No such luck! Now go put it on so I can see what you look like!" She said excitedly, shoving the dress at the blonde woman and practically shoving her into the bathroom.

It was a few minutes later when Riza emerged from the room, the dress fitting her perfectly. Sheska offered her best impression of the chesire-cat grin. "It's PERFECT." She decided, clasping her hands together. Riza gave her a withering look. "Help me find shoes." She said flatly, before turning to the closet once more to find said item. Eventually they both agreed on a pair of black pumps with black ribbons decorating them. Not overdone; they were actually cute.

Riza stared down at herself doubtfully, though. "Something's missing." She mumbled, before drifting over to her dresser and digging through what was obviously a jewelry box. She pulled out a necklace decorated with dark blue stones and roses. "How about this?" She asked, eyes drifting over to Sheska. The girl nodded, her chesire cat grin returning full force.

"It's--"

"Let me guess, perfect?" Riza asked, her tone bemused. Her friend blinked, her grin faltering. "Yes. Just that." she said, quite seriously. Riza grinned. "I thought so. Now, I should best be going. Thank you for your help tonight." She said wistfully. Sheska beamed.

"No problem! I'm just glad that you asked! I usually never get to help anyone get ready for a date! Especially with the Colonel." She sighed happily, before clasping her hands together. "I wish you luck!" She said enthusiastically. Riza nodded in thanks. "Well, I gotta get going now anyways. Bye!" Sheska then left, and Riza made her way to the bathroom to check the little makeup that she had applied.

* * *

"You look stunning," Roy breathed, eyes wide. Riza rolled her eyes. "Save the flattery for dinner." She said, her tone serious. The smile gave away her amusement, however. Roy blinked, but nodded.

"Ed wanted to ride...I'll drop him off at Fuery's on the way." He said, before extending his arm. "Shall we?" He asked, giving her a winning smile. She mocked hesitation for a moment, before taking said arm. "Let's." She agreed, before following him off of her front porch and out to the car, Ed's face pressed against the back window as he watched them approach.

"Wow Miss Riza! You look really pretty." He said, grinning as the woman sat in the passenger seat in front of him. Riza gave him a smile. "Thank you, Edward." She said, earning a small nod from the boy, who launched into a story about what Roy had done in preparation for the date. Roy seethed as he drove, but was otherwise the perfect picture of composure.

A few minutes after the boy finished his story, they pulled up in front of Fuery's house**[1]**, the bespectacled man waiting nervously at the door. Mustang greeted him with a smirk. "I promise I'll pay you good enough." He said, earning a jerky shrug from the man.

"Are you sure this is okay? He's not going to kill me, is he?" He deadpanned, causing Roy to snicker.

"Only if you let him, Kain." He said gleefully, before ushering the blonde chibi in after the man.

Fuery sighed. "Oh boy." He said, his tone less than enthusiastic.

Roy bade him farewell after a few exchanges of conversation. He had a date to attend, after all.

He made it back to the car, pulling out of the drive and off towards their secret destination. He grinned to himself. There was no way he could have screwed this up. Everything was going to go perfect.

* * *

"Wow. What is this place?" Riza asked, her arm held in Roy's as they walked into the vast restaurant. "It's huge!" She exclaimed. It was much grander than the one she'd taken them to the other day. Roy's grin widened.

"Best restaurant for the perfect date." He said, winking playfully. Riza rolled her eyes, smiling. He really had gone out of his way to please her. Roy then led her up to the front, where a waiter was standing. Roy cleared his throat. "Reservation for two, please. It should be under Mustang." He said. The waiter pulled up his chart and gazed over it, before nodding.

"I see. Right this way." The man led them to the very back. "And what will we be having this evening?" He asked, fetching his notepad. Both Roy and Riza studied their menus, and it was Roy who answered first.

"Ah, yes. I'd like the New York strip with a vegetable medley and a small side salad, caeser please." He said. The waiter nodded, copying it down. "And for the young lady?" He asked, his gaze shifting to Riza.

"I'd like the Garlic and Herb roasted Chicken on a bed of rice with vegetables, please." The waiter nodded, before heading off to prepare the orders. Roy looked over to Riza, a lopsided grin covering his face.

"Having fun yet?" He asked, tone relaxed. He really had put a lot into making this the best date Riza ever had. Hell, one had to give him credit. All the past dates he'd had had been a short fling. He hadn't ever bothered taking them anywhere special because he probably wouldn't remember their name the next day.

Riza seemed to think over his question, before nodding. "I guess you could say that. As fun as a girl can have in a restaurant." She added, smiling slightly. Roy snorted.

"Yes, I do suppose that was a foolish question. Let me rephrase. Are you e_njoying_ yourself?" He asked, folding his hands and resting his chin on them.

Riza nodded. "Very much so, colonel Mustang." She said, smirking.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Roy." He corrected, but the lazy smile that showed his ease let her know that he knew she was just using the title because she felt like it.

Meanwhile, of course...

* * *

"Edward, please! That's very expensive!" Kain yelled, fretting from the bottom of the staircase. Edward was sitting on the edge of the railing overlooking the foyer, turning what looked like a miniature vase over and over in his hands.

Not to mention he was practically hanging from the second story of the house. "But it's pretty! I wanna give it to Mister Roy!" He said, waving the vase around happily. Fuery paled a few more shades.

"Okay, look, if you get down CAREFULLY, I'll get you some ice cream! Would you like that?" He asked, trying to sound encouraging. Edward studied him a moment. "I don't know...I kinda like it up here." The boy said, smirking. Edward Elric, the kid who constantly laughed in the face of danger. Kain should have KNOWN that no possible amount of pay could reverse the damage this was having on his nerves.

"Alright..I'll let you give the vase to Roy if you get down. How's that?" He asked. Edward watched him for a moment, before shrugging, carefully scooting to turn around, and hopping off the railing into the hallway on the second floor, descending the stairs.

"Do I still get ice cream?" He asked innocently once he reached the floor. Fuery deadpanned. "Only if you never, ever do that again." He said, turning and heading into the kitchen. Edward followed him, setting the vase on a table in the foyer where he promptly forgot about it in place of the sweet treat.

Surely a few more hours wouldn't be that bad, right?

* * *

"...and Breda thought I was actually talking about the animal!" Roy finished up one of the many stories he'd told Riza while they were at the restaurant. Now the two walked arm-in-arm towards the local theater.

Riza laughed. "I don't think he's ever quite made the connection there." She agreed, just as they stopped in front of the theater. Roy's cellphone went off.**[2]**

"Hello?" He answered, brows knitting as he flipped it open. He listened for a second, before his eyes widened. "Are you sure?....Well, how long ago did you-- no! That can wait for later, Fuery!" Roy barked, before flipping the phone closed. "We have to save this part of the date for later, lieutenant." He said, going into colonel mode before Riza's very eyes.

"What's wrong, sir?" She asked, picking up on his mood with worry.

Roy's eyes narrowed and he breathed through his teeth. "Ed's disappeared. Fuery can't find him anywhere. Come on, we have to go find him. He can't have gotten far, Fuery said he'd just seen him ten minutes ago after washing the dishes." He said, shoving the phone violently into his pocket as he waved over a cab.

"I can't believe Ed would do this." Riza said, worrying at her lower lip as they got into the cab. Roy instructed the cab driver to Fuery's house, before leaning back and closing his eyes.

"This is getting insane." He murmured, Riza's hand slipping into his giving him just a little bit of comfort. We'll find him, it said.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Edward asked, looking up at the woman who was tugging him along by the arm. Long, flowing black hair and a dress, despite the biting cold of the weather. Speaking of which, Edward shivered, not having a coat on or shoes, causing his feet to go numb as he plodded through the slush to keep up with the woman.

"Don't worry your little head about it, Elric. You'll see soon enough." She said. Her voice wasn't unkind, Per Se, but there was something that Edward just didn't trust in it. The boy frowned.

"Can we get there soon? I can't feel my feet." He mumbled, only to be tugged along faster. He stumbled as he tried to keep up with her, falling face-first into the muck. The woman sighed.

"Can't you do anything right, Elric?" She asked exasperatedly, before hauling him up and slinging him over her shoulder, taking off towards a building in the distance that Edward did not recognize. It looked like a temple of some sort but he couldn't really tell.

Since he was no longer holding them back, they made it there within a few minutes, the woman promptly depositing him on the floor and going into another room. Someone else was left in the room with him. Edward didn't really recognize him, but something told him he didn't like him. At all.

...IF it was a he. Edward wasn't so sure about that. Stringy green hair, narrow purple eyes, pale skin, and...Hm. A skirt. But no chest that he could make out. As far as he knew, girls had big things on their chests, right? Well, this one didn't have any. "Are you a girl?" He asked, tilting his head.

The person fumed. "Shut up, pipsqueak! You know perfectly well I'm male. More so then you." He sneered. Edward just stared at him. His VOICE was girly, too...

"I see..." He murmured quietly. Everything he'd known was currently in question. Great.

At that point the woman returned, sparing a glance for the male-that-was-apparently-more-so-than-Edward-but-didn't-look-it and stepping over to Edward. "Someone wants to talk to you." She informed him, before grabbing his arm and hauling him out of the room again. He blew a raspberry at the male-but-not-quite as they left.

* * *

"Where the hell could he have gone? He isn't even on the block!" Roy said in frustration, having driven around Fuery's neighborhood almost three times already.

They stopped outside of the bespectacled man's house again and Riza got out, inspecting the ground. "Sir! Come here!" She said, and Roy quickly got out to look at what she could see. "Footprints." Riza mumbled, looking up to where they went until she could no longer see them.

Roy slapped his forehead. "There's two sets. Those look like..kid feet...He wasn't wearing any shoes!" He said, sounding more miffed than he should have. If not for the situation, it would have been funny.

"Sir, those next to them are bigger. And they were heels. Who do we know that wears heels?" She asked, reaching up to scratch the back of her neck. Roy's eyes narrowed.

"..Shit." He muttered, turning. "Lieutenant, we have to follow those. If it's who I think it is we have to hurry. Come on!" He said, before running along the footprints at a pace that surprised even Riza. This must have been bad.

* * *

"Do you know why you're here?"

A woman paced in front of Edward, scrutinizing him with her gaze. She looked old; probably old enough to be his grandmother. She had gray hair swept back into a bun, and beady little eyes. A red stone adorned the front of her blouse. However, despite her somewhat kind appearance, Edward didn't like her at all. She practically radiated meanness.

"No..." Edward mumbled, looking down. It was cold in this place, and he was hungry and sleepy because the Fuery man had never put him down for a nap. Not that he would have let him, but that wasn't the point.

The old woman smirked. "Good." She said, folding her arms. They had given up on getting the older Edward Elric to make them a stone; it was better to dispose of him while he was still vulnerable and find someone else. There were lots of other alchemists they could manipulate into doing their dirty work. The Elric boy knew too much, and that had to be taken care of anyways.

"I want you to do something for me, Edward." The woman said, her tone changing to something slightly...cheerier. Edward's brows knitted together. What could she possibly want with him?

"What?" He asked quietly, looking around again, then down. He wanted Roy. And Riza. And home.

"Stand on that circle on the ground, okay?" She asked. Edward frowned.

"Why should I?" He asked, the streak of insubordination just refusing to leave him. The woman's lip curled.

"Because if you don't we'll hurt you. You're outnumbered, child. Do as you're told and we won't hurt a hair on your pretty little head." She said, smirking.

Edward frowned, before stepping over onto the circle. The old woman beckoned, and a boy with long hair stepped forwards and knelt by the circle. "What do I get for this?" He asked, cutting his eyes over to Dante. The woman scowled. "It saves you another trip to the gate." she said, causing the boy to quickly turn and press his hands to the circle. Something he did NOT want to relive, apparently.

It glowed, but didn't really do anything that Edward could tell. "Is it broken?" He asked, poking the pattern closest to him. The woman smirked. "No. You will see soon enough." She said, before turning. "Lust! Envy! Wrath. We're leaving. The boy's guardians are almost here." She said, before leaving the back of the temple, followed by the other three. Almost the moment they left, Mustang and Hawkeye appeared at the entrance.

Edward looked up from where he sat in the middle of the circle, shivering slightly at the look Roy was giving him. "It wasn't my fault! She took me here! I didn't want to go!" He automatically defended himself, sneezing. Roy sighed, before reaching up and rubbing at his eyes. "I know, Ed. How did they get away so fast?" He murmured.

"Sir, look." Riza said quietly, her voice urgent. Roy looked, and eyed the circle that Edward was sitting on.

"Shit!" He cursed, stepping forwards and quickly picking him up and away from it. He studied it, but couldn't really understand anything on it. He committed it to memory and turned. "Let's get him back home." He said, carrying the boy past Riza and out onto the road. She followed him out, and they all headed back to Fuery's house so they could get Roy's car.

* * *

It was almost half an hour later when they found themselves back at Roy's house, Edward asleep on the couch and curled up inside of a blanket. Unsurprisingly, he was sick, and Roy couldn't help but notice. Wolf was sprawled out in front of the couch where Edward lay, having been keeping close to the boy ever since they brought him home. Something was wrong, he sensed, but he couldn't tell what.

"I don't know what would have happened if we didn't find him.." Riza said, sipping her coffee. Roy was uncharacteristically quiet.

"You can stay the night if you wish. I'm sorry our date didn't go as well as we'd planned..." He murmured, before getting up. "I'm going to try and figure out that circle." He muttered, before heading down the hall towards his study. Riza frowned, but sank back into her seat on the couch to watch Edward. She sincerely hoped everything turned out okay.

* * *

**[1] I know Fuery lives in the dorms in the anime, but this is AU, and for plot purposes, it's a house. XD**

**[2] Once again my little AU streak. Cell phones. For Plot purposes.  
**

**Dear God this was the HARDEST chapter to write. I don't even know why; I worked on it pretty often, but only got about a paragraph done each time. It was driving me nuts. Either way, there it is in all it's shitty glory. XD I hope it wasn't that bad, honestly. The Christmas chapter comes next, which I intended to put up on Christmas itself but didn't quite get that lucky. XD;; Also, it wouldn't be up right now if FullmetalAddict hadn't helped me get through some tough spots. :D Thanks, sis!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sop: Great god. DX Guys, I'm letting you know now that so far the year has sucked inspiration wise. I know what I need to get done, just not how to get there. I've had a little bit of help, but honestly I don't know what I'm going to do. This MIGHT go on hiatus, but I doubt it. I really want to get it done so I can focus on TCT, which should be starting on FF shortly after this ends. XD; Don't worry; that doesn't mean I'm going to rush this and do a shit-tastic job on it; quite the contrary, I'm hoping to make it better than it has been so far so that I can find more people who might want to see more of my work. I dunno. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter. XD I wasted many sleepless nights on it. **

**Review replies**

**Narutolovesme2: **xD If only you knew....-evil laughter-

**Torean: **Ah, you'll never, ever guess. :O And I can't make any promises about making you cry; what I have in mind is pretty bad. D: But..well, I won't give you any spoilers. XD I guess you'll just have to see.

**Flying Through Infinity: **xD There will be, trust me. Ed's going to definitely get worse before he gets..better? I'm not sure if what comes after is..well, it ISN'T better XD But, we'll see. n.n Let me just tell you that they were NOT fooling around. This time they really did do something to their advantage. I'm not entirely sure what it is they're after this time though, or how I'll make the problem end. Hm, we'll see.

**TeamJempwarth: **XD Awsome name. Also, I love them too. XD And I know. I don't really care for RoyxRiza either, but it's helping the plot along well. =_= So I guess I'll keep it in there. OTL

**Alkhemyst:** Love your name too o.o And thanks! :D Glad to see you like it! Here's one of those epdates. x3

**Orange Singer:** Nope! He's just sick from being out in the cold. If only simple illness was the cause of the circle.. XD You'll have to wait until after their Christmas to see my evil plans.

**FullmetalAddict:** I know! I feel terrible for making them guess, but they'll never figure it out. XD

**Miyuki Meiru: **:O! A LURKER! -sticks to the wall with duct tape and pulls out a flamethrower- You pointed yourself out for this one! -pulls the trigger, and a little flag that says 'burn baby burn!' pops out- ...What?! I paid good money for this thing! Those damn...I should've known fifty bucks was too cheap.

XD! Thanks for reviewing though!!

**Cain Aiden:** I am! See? -points- x3

**Alkhemyst: **Back again I see! And no, he doesn't. His body didn't shrink. It physically reversed, like going back in time but staying in the present. His memories are also goofed up, which is the main reason he doesn't yet understand alchemy and stuff, and acts more childish than he would have. Those will return at some point, though. XD

Song of inspiration: _Black Cat OST-Fureau Kokoro_

**oOoOo**

It was Christmas Eve and Edward was STILL sick from the night they'd found him in the temple after the homunculi had abandoned him. Roy still had to go get presents and Fuery refused to babysit Ed, bashfully mumbling that the child was simply just too much trouble. So in the end, Riza volunteered to babysit him, and Roy was finally able to go shopping.

"Are you sure it's supposed 'ta go like that?" Edward's head tilted as he rested in Riza's lap, watching her put a child's puzzle together in front of them on the coffee table. It was unthinkably easy for Riza, but for the child's entertainment and delight, she acted as if it were a challenge.

"Yes, of course." She said. Edward blinked and sighed loudly, twisting the puzzle piece Riza was 'working' on to the left. He smiled as it fit into place, beaming up at the blonde woman.

"See? Like that!" He squeaked happily. He then coughed, drawing the blanket draped over his shoulders tighter around himself, "I did it." He said, tone a tad more quiet this time. Riza smiled a little, wrapping her arms around him.

"How about we warm up some of the soup that Roy left?" She asked as she stood, and Edward moved to follow her. "Can we have gilled cheese samwiches instead? The soup Mister Roy made is icky. He made me eat some of it this morning..." He scrunched his nose in emphasis. Riza chuckled.

"Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt." As the kid rejoiced, Riza made her way into the Kitchen to prepare the sandwiches.

**oOoOo**

Roy sighed as he exited what he felt like was the hundredth store. None of them had exactly what he was looking for. He wasn't even sure yet what it was. He kicked at a discarded can and stopped outside of an antique shop, glancing in for a moment and leaning on the side of the building.

Maybe he should just give up and go home? But he couldn't. He had to get everything, and make sure it was perfect. Damn his perfectionist streak.

He mused to himself how Edward always managed to kill that streak. The kid could practically force him into a state of disarray that could put the colonel off-par for Gate only knows how long.

And Roy missed it. The chaos had been refreshing, now that he looked back. He really needed to get Edward back to normal.

He mused on this as he stepped into the antique store, deciding to give it a look as well. The old man at the register was hastily discarding a cigarette as Roy walked in, but the colonel ignored him in favor of the trinkets that sat on the shelves lining the walls. Something had caught his eye.

He wandered towards it, picking up the spherical music box and studying it's outside. Ebony black metal, with dark red roses forming an R on the top. The banding around the middle and clasp was a faded silver, as well as the little clawed feet it rested on. He supposed the letter on top was probably for a brand name, but it was perfect.

He flipped it open and watched as a new rose spun around in the center, about the size of a quarter. Maybe a little bigger. Either way, it was beautiful. Roy didn't know the tune it played, but it was pretty, whatever it was.

Deciding that it was what he was looking for, he turned, heading towards the counter to purchase it.

**oOoOo**

It was a few hours later when he returned to Riza's doorstep, the woman ushering him inside and out of the cold.

"He didn't give you a lot of trouble, did he?" He asked tiredly, sinking into a chair in the living room. Riza shook her head.

"No, he's actually been very good. I guess it's because he's sick, but he's been really quiet and agreeable." She said, brows drawing together.

Roy nodded slowly. "Exactly the opposite of Ed." He mused, yawning. "At least he's good for _you_. Every day for me it feels like there's ten of him." He mumbled. Riza just laughed and headed into the kitchen. "What do you want to drink?" She called, the sound of glasses being pulled from the cupboards and set down on the counter drifting through the air.

"Whi—water." He said, quickly covering up his request for whiskey. Riza still managed a snort and carried a glass full of the clear liquid and a few ice cubes into the room, setting it down on the table in front of him and sitting down on the couch with her own glass.

"Come on, Roy. I'm sure it wasn't that bad." She said, taking a sip. Roy rolled his eyes, managing to guzzle half of the glass down before answering her.

"It was hell. I swear, this is the worst part of the year. Every year." He said. Of course, this one was the worst, he thought to himself. He'd never had anyone he'd actually had to buy anything for.

Edward was his only good friend now that Maes was gone, and the short blonde refused gifts from anyone but Alphonse. Go figure. So, he'd never really experienced the nightmare of Christmas shopping before, besides the few years he'd go with his mother to get something for his father and vice-verse.

Riza laughed a little, then looked down. "Roy, I've been meaning to ask you if I could take my vacation time off. I know that your team is getting smaller, but I would like to go to my mother's after Christmas. I..have to clear it with you before I go to the fuhrer, even if you are off-duty." She said, tapping her fingers on the sides of the glass.

Roy watched her for a few minutes. "..That's fine." He said finally, shrugging. "Enjoy your time off." He added after a few minutes, offering her a smile. She looked up at him, surprised. That was it? No convincing her to stay? She felt her shoulders sink in relief, until he started talking again. "I guess that means you need to visit on Christmas." He added, before standing and grinning cryptically.

"I'm going to go get Edward. Where is he?" He asked. Riza blinked.

"Oh, he's in the guest room taking a nap." She said, standing as well to stretch. Roy nodded, before heading down the hall to get him. Minutes later he returned, carrying a rather groggy looking little boy with him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, lieutenant." He said, his grin from earlier still in place as he left the house. Riza heard the car doors close and the engine start, before sitting back down. Why would Roy want her there on Christmas? Besides the fact that Ed probably wanted her there.

She continued musing on this as she stood, deciding to go and do a little more shopping of her own. She didn't really need to, but she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed.

**OooOo**

Roy groaned as he heard a loud sniffing in his ear, before a cold, wet object made contact and he shot upright, glaring at the overly happy dog on his bed. He glanced at the clock, before groaning. 5:30 a.m. On Christmas. Well, at least he was awake before Edward. He yawned, before flicking the dog between the eyes, earning him a whine.

"You woke ME up. Don't expect me to be nice to you today." He said, before moving the covers off and going to the kitchen. Wolf apparently forgot about his attitude and followed him, obviously in the hopes of getting food.

Roy made himself some coffee, and, much to the overgrown puppy's joy, filled the food bowl, listening to the sounds of crunching kibble and cars driving past the house. Oh, the joys of thin walls.

He pondered on this as he drank his coffee, deciding to make cinnamon buns for breakfast. He got started on this, humming as he did. Well, he was in an oddly cheery mood for someone who'd gotten waken up by a dog with a cold nose.

Once he was done cooking, he let them cool and went into the living room, realizing he hadn't gotten Edward's present from 'Santa' out yet. Oops. That would have been a pain to explain if the kid had woken up before him; it's all the boy had talked about yesterday.

He grabbed one of the cookies off of the plate that Edward had left out last night, taking a few bites off of it and making a face. Sugar galore. He managed to choke down a few more before leaving half of them on the plate and going to dump the milk. THAT would definitely not taste good after sitting out all night, after all.

Once he was finished with this, he went to the garage to get the present, managing to put it in the living room without waking the child up. Ten minutes after he sank into the living room chair, he heard small feet padding down the hallway. THAT had been a close call.

He watched as Edward wandered into the living room, the boy's eyes growing nearly three times their normal size as he took in the vast amounts of presents Roy had stuck under the tree after he'd gone to bed.

And....

"A train set!" Ah, the first words of the morning. Roy bit back the huge grin on his face as Edward practically tripped over poor Wolf to get to the set, automatically turning the head car on and watching as the train chugged along the tracks.

Roy had spent a pretty penny on it; hell, those things were expensive! They were fairly new, after all. Sure, they'd been around since before Ed was born, but that didn't make them any less popular. Plus, Ed seemed to like it rather well, squealing every time the train decided to pass his way again.

Roy yawned. "Do you want to eat breakfast before opening the rest of them?" he asked, standing from his chair. Ed looked torn. His stomach growled, though, signifying his hunger. Roy rolled his eyes. "They're not going anywhere, Ed. Come on." he said, going into the kitchen, followed by said boy.

Ed soon found himself sat at the table with Roy, a plate of cinnamon bun and a glass of milk in front of him. "Did Santa like the cookies I made for him?" he asked, taking a bite of cinnamon bun. Roy winced.

"He told me they were a little sweet. He wants you to go easy on the icing next year, but he liked them." he said, shrugging. Edward nodded, scarfing down the rest of the bun before jumping down.

"Alright! Present time!" he said, looking ready to start dashing from the room. But Roy cleared his throat, causing Edward to pause and turn. The boy glared at the glass on the table.

"Milk." Roy said simply. He pointed to the aforementioned glass, causing Edward to cross his arms.

"Not touching it." the boy argued, slowly inching towards the living room. Roy sighed.

"But if you don't drink it you'll stay short for life!" he said. _Trust me, I know._ He thought, smirking to himself. Edward bristled.

"Who are you calling so short he could be a pygmy for the rest of his life?!" he demanded, stomping his foot. Roy blinked, looking sort of like someone who'd just been hit by a strong wind.

"Whoa." He said, before smirking. There was Ed.

"I said nothing _like_ that, Edward." he insisted, following the boy as he all but stomped into the living room. He sat down next to the tree, going through the presents and giving the majority of them to Edward. The child tore open the presents with apparent gusto, oohing and aahing over every little thing that came out of each of the boxes.

About half an hour later found Ed on the floor, trying to play with everything at once as Roy stepped around him to pick up all of the wrapping paper and took toys out of packages that Edward couldn't get open. Once he was done with this, He shoved the packages into the garage before sitting down in his chair again with some fresh coffee.

There were about five presents there for him, mostly things that his subordinates had brought him and one was something Riza had taken Ed out to get him. He picked up the one from Breda first, Edward halting play to watch him.

Roy opened the paper with trepidation; Breda was known to give him ridiculous things for Christmas. And he wasn't disappointed as he pulled out a pair of bright pink underwear with blue hearts on them. He gave it a flat look. "And he wants a _pro_motion?" He muttered to the sounds of Edward's near-hysterical laughter. He shook his head and set it aside, going for a safer one. Fuery's.

This time it was a simple lint roller. He grinned. The big-eyed man had always commented on how he ended up covered in Wolf's fur on a regular basis. So this was a good, useful thing.

He picked up Havoc's and went ahead about tearing the paper off and opening it, discovering several alchemic texts to help him on getting Edward back to normal. There was a note on top that reminded him to send them back to the library by January 15th. Roy rolled his eyes. How typical.

Falman's gift was, at least, harmless. Just socks. The man never had been good with gifts, but Roy appreciated them all the same. Lastly, he picked up the one that Ed had picked out when he was with Riza.

"Should I be worried?" He asked, causing the boy to grin and shake his head. Roy made a show of cautiously removing the paper and opening the box. He pulled out a picture frame, but what caught his attention was the picture inside.

The photo was of Edward himself, sitting on a Santa Claus' lap and apparently in the middle of pulling off his fake beard. Edward had a look of justified indignation on his face, and the Santa Claus looked ready to kill.

"I bet Riza had lots of fun taking this." He said bluntly. "Thanks, Ed." He said, offering a smile to the child. Edward nodded, before hopping up.

"I'm gonna go get a drink." He said, going into the kitchen. The sounds of a chair scraping across the floor were heard, and Roy rolled his eyes. A cruel part of his mind quipped that Ed probably wouldn't have been able to reach those cupboards at his REGULAR age, either.

Riza stood at Roy's doorstep, a doubtful look on her face as she reached up to knock. There was a flurry of activity behind the door, before a rather winded looking Edward pulled it open, struggling to hold onto Wolf's collar as the dog attempted to glomp the poor woman.

Riza smiled, petting Wolf's head and going in around boy and dog, standing in the doorway and shutting the door for them. "Where's Roy?" She asked the boy curiously.

Edward blinked, thinking for a minute. "Oh! He's in the bathroom!" He said, letting go of Wolf and running down the hall to bang on the bathroom door. "MISTER ROY! RIZA'S HERE!" He announced, before the door opened and Roy yelled.

"EDWARD GET OUT OF HERE!"

Minutes later Edward returned, looking rather put-out. "What's wrong with him!? We all gots the same stuff.." He muttered, stomping into the kitchen. Riza snickered. She followed him, watching as the child sat at the table and took a few sips out of a glass of chocolate milk.

"Did you like your presents, Ed?" She asked conversationally, sitting down across from him. Edward nodded.

"Yup! Mister Roy got me a train set and some tiddly winks and some marbles and a teddy bear and these wood things that make a tower and.." Riza tuned him out right about there. She already knew what'd he'd gotten. She nodded when he paused, smiling.

"That's great, Ed! Did he like his picture?" She asked, resting her chin in her hands.

Edward nodded again. "Yup! He said he bets you had fun taking it." He said, taking another sip of the milk and making a face. "Tastes funny." He muttered, going to the fridge to get more chocolate. He squirted more than was technically necessary into the glass, mixed it with a spoon laying on the table, and took another sip, making another face but going to put the chocolate up anyways. Buh.

Riza watched him, looking up as Roy walked into the kitchen. "Ed, don't come in the bathroom when I'm using it." He said flatly, sitting down at the table. Edward smirked at him before going back to drinking the chocolate milk.

"I heard he liked his presents." Riza said, smiling at him. Roy nodded.

"I'm sure he did." He said, before getting up and disappearing.

He returned minutes later with a wrapped box and set it down in front of Riza, sitting down in his previous chair. Riza blinked. "Roy, you really shouldn't have! I didn't get you anything..." She said, eyebrows drawing together.

Roy grinned. "So? Despite what _certain short state alchemists_ think, everything isn't technically equivalent exchange." He said, leaning back in his chair. "Open it."

Riza did so, opening the box and taking the music box out. She opened it, watching the rose spin around on the inside. The music was beautiful.

She watched it for a few minutes, before getting up and setting it down. Wordlessly, she pulled Roy into a hug, causing the man to blink and awkwardly pat her on the back. He grinned when she kissed his cheek, both of them sitting back down.

"You know I'm going to have to get something for you now too, right?"

**oOoOo**

Roy and Ed, along with Riza, sat on a bench as they waited for her train to arrive.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here without me?" She asked Roy, jerking her head in Ed's direction. Subtly. Roy shrugged.

"I think I'll manage." He answered, offering her a small smile. Riza rolled her eyes, before her train pulled up and she stood. "Well, Ed. Roy. I'll see you both in a week." She said, turning and heading off towards the train. Roy and ed both waved, watching her leave.

"Roy, can we get ice cream?"

"..Sure, Ed. Sure."

**oOoOo**

**My..brain...it is dead. DX Hope you enjoyed ;_; I'm seriously afraid this is going to go on a semi hiatus. I have lots of stuff going on right now and I can't focus on it at all. u.u**


	7. Chapter 7

**GM: So, my sister AKA SomethingOfImportance has dropped off of the face of the earth. Not literally. But she has lost interest in finishing this fic. But, all is not lost. Very recently, my FMA fandom returned. So, I am picking up from where she left off, and I do intend to finish this fic. That being said, I now have to since I just said I was going to. I never abandon my projects, despite how it may seem...my fics have quite the hiatus themselves. Ahem, anyway, let's get to the review replies.**

**Review Replies**

**Torean: **Lol, yes, it is still quite a cute fic. XD I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoy the rest. :D

**Akakoi: **Well, not necessarily. |D I mean, it's Winter and I've had some, so...it is still yummy no matter the temperature. Glad you enjoyed it!

**Miyuki Meiru:** It shall all be revealed by the end of this chapter. :D I'm actually killing many birds with one stone, so to speak. Lol.

**Melody Elric:** Well, things have gotten a LOT more swamped than back then, but I hope sometime this year, things will lighten up. I'm so glad you're enjoying the read. :)

**ChibiYue-San:** Well, I thought it was. :D Thanks for the review!

**GoldenMoonshine:** Derp. No comments here since I am GoldenMoonshine. XD lol.

**Alkhemyst: **:O I know right? Christmas is the best when there are children around. n.n Makes it more enjoyable!

**Vi-Violence:** Oh, I agree whole-heartedly. There will be much of that to come!

**Fullmetal Epicness: **WOW, great name! :D I'm glad you love it. Thanks for reviewing!

**I Love Vladimir D. Cloud:** Yeah, at least she gave it her all. Thanks for reviewing!

**Gothic-Romantic99:** Well, you didn't have to wait long, thankfully! Enjoy the read, and thanks for taking the time to review! :D

**[Just a note guys, this chapter's a little...dark in places. Nothing major, just a warning!]**

Song of inspiration: Scandal - Shunkan Sentimental

**oOoOo**

Saying that things went smoothly after Christmas would be a lie. Roy had settled into really cracking down in order to find a way to help Edward. In the last week, however, the child had really made things hard on him. Keeping up with him and balancing research was a great chore. Today, Roy sat in the living room, open books related to alchemy spread all over the coffee table. Minimal success had been made, sadly.

"Mister Roy, what are you reading?" Edward spoke up from his spot on the floor where he was running a brush through Wolf's fur. The pup was asleep next to Edward, chest rising and falling quite peacefully. Roy glanced up at Edward, before leaning back to rub at his eyes. "Alchemy. I'm studying it." He replied. Edward seemed interested. "Me and Al read my dad's books all the time! We're learning it all on our own." He replied proudly.

"Very nice." Roy muttered dryly. He hadn't been in the best of moods today. It had started out at 6:00 in the morning due to Ed having an accident on the couch. When Roy had asked him if he had had a bad dream, the blonde was hesitant at replying, and even then was very vague about the whole situation. He was more worried as to why it had happened, defiantly stating that Al was the only one who wet the bed.

Then, he had come into the Living Room to find that half of his couch had been torn up by the puppy. Instead of really worrying over it though, he had simply draped a sheet over to damage. As his thoughts drew to a close, he leaned forwards to once again dive into his notes.

"Mister Roy, I'm hungry." Edward spoke up, ceasing the brushing of Wolf's coat. "Go eat the leftovers from dinner last night." Roy replied, not looking up. "You gave the rest of the hotdogs to Wolf..." Edward replied. Roy growled, refraining from yelling at the child to go away. He had to remember that he was still in charge of the kid. "Okay. What do you want?" He asked, squashing down his anger. "Grilled Cheese." Edward replied. "Alright. Stay out of the Kitchen while I cook." Roy then got up, going into the Kitchen.

Edward went over to the box containing his toys, taking out a set of Lincoln Logs that Breda had gotten for him as a late Christmas present. As he was constructing what was probably a house, he heard Roy talking in the Kitchen. Probably to Riza. Maybe Roy'd let him talk to her? He got up, wandering to the Kitchen doorway. He stopped short when he heard his name being mentioned, though. He sat back, listening to the conversation. Or Roy's end, anyway.

"I just don't know what to do. He's practically distracting me every five minutes and I can't get anything done. How am I supposed to get him back to normal if he won't let me be?"

"_Roy, he's just a child at the moment. He has no idea how important it is. You're not a colonel for nothing. Just relax and take it a step at a time,"_

"Riza, it's been almost five months. Sooner or later, he'll realize that something isn't right. What am I supposed to do then? He's not stupid."

"_Roy, I...I gotta go. I'll talk to you tonight."_

With that said, the line was hushed from Riza's end and Roy was left to wonder what exactly he was supposed to do. He hung the phone up, turning back to Ed's lunch. Edward's brows furrowed. What was going on? Was something wrong? He didn't understand what Roy had been saying. He looked up as Roy turned. "Ed, lunch is—how long have you been standing there?" Roy looked a bit shocked to see Ed standing in the doorway. Ed couldn't decide what to feel towards all of this, so he effectively shoved it to the back of his mind for later thought.

"Not long. Lunch ready?" He asked. "Yes." Roy set the plate on the table, and Ed moved to sit down. He took a few bites of it, before peeking into the living room where Roy had gone back to the couch. "It's not cheesy enough!" He said. Roy looked up. "No way, I put two pieces of cheese on there. Eat it or go hungry." He replied. Edward frowned, nose wrinkling. "Dummy," He chided, taking a bite of the sandwich, "can't even make a samwich right." He mumbled.

After finishing half of the sandwich, he slid out of his seat. He looked around a bit, before wandering into the Living Room again. "I'm bored." He said. Roy frowned. "Hmm." He mumbled. He then got to his feet, going back into the Kitchen to pick the phone back up. Ed followed him, rocking on his heels once he stopped in front of Roy. "Yeah, Gracia? It's Colonel Mustang." Roy greeted.

"_Hello, Roy."_ Gracia replied. _"Is there something I can help you with?"_ She asked. Roy nodded even though she couldn't see. "Yeah. Would you mind looking after Ed for the rest of the day? I can't explain everything right now, but," Roy paused, looking down at Ed. "Ed, could you please go back to the living room?"

Ed pouted, before crossing his arms and stalking back to the living room. "He's run into a complicated transmutation circle that's turned him into a child. I'm trying to work on a way to get him back to normal, but he's bugging me. I figured he could play with Elicia or something. Like I said, I can't explain everything in detail." Roy spoke quietly, keeping an eye on Edward as he spoke. _"Well, Miss Hawkeye gave me a vague idea of what was going on, so I'd be happy to. Just bring him when you're ready."_ She said. "Yeah. See you then." Roy replied, before hanging up. "Ed, go get your coat. You're gunna go meet a new friend." He said. He wondered just how many people knew of Ed's predicament...

"What? But Mister Roy, I wanna stay with you!" Edward said, brows furrowing. "Not now, Ed." Roy replied. "Go get your coat. Now." "No!" Edward didn't seem to want to listen. "Do you want to be punished? Do as I say, Edward Elric." Ed faltered at Roy's sudden scary tone, sighing quietly and going to get his coat. Roy went to get his own coat, only grabbing his keys when they were both halfway out the door. The ride there was spent in a tense silence; Roy could practically feel the disdain pouring from the blonde.

"Come on, Ed. It'll be fun." Roy spoke up a block from the Hughes' residence. "No it won't." Edward replied, tone stiff. "Yes it will. There's a little girl for you to play with." Roy replied. Edward scoffed, kicking the dashboard. "Hey! Why are you being such a brat?" Roy asked. "Tell me the truth! Why am I here?" At the child's tone, Roy stopped the car to look at him. A fierce look of determination had appeared in Edward's eyes. "Where's my brother? What about my mom? Tell me the truth, Mister Roy."

Edward looked down so that Roy couldn't see his face. Roy hesitated. "I told you. Al is at Winry's house." "My mom?" Edward pressed. He looked up angrily when Roy didn't reply. "Tell me!" He yelled. "I can't, Edward..." Roy said, quietly. "What do you mean you can't?" The voice sounded as if it was coming from the teenage Ed, pissed that he wasn't being given information.

But did Roy really want to tell this teen-turned-child what had happened? "Ed," The man took a deep breath, faltering with his words, "I'll tell you when you get home. I promise." He said quietly. "Promise?" Edward's eyes narrowed. "Scout's honor." Roy replied. "You better." Was all Edward replied with. Roy pressed on towards their destination, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his gut. Maybe, Ed would forget about it. All he could do was hope.

**oOoOo**

"You must be Edward," Gracia crouched to the blonde's level, offering him a warm smile. "You're going to have fun, aren't you?" She asked. Edward, despite being angry at Roy, clung to him desperately and only offered Gracia an untrusting stare. "Mister Roy, I wanna stay with you." He said, looking up at the man. "Please call me if he doesn't behave himself." Roy told to Gracia, before reaching behind him to push Edward ahead of him. Gently of course, but Edward still looked back at him with a sad expression of betrayal.

"I'm sure he'll have a good time, Colonel." Gracia replied. Roy just waved as he headed off, not giving Edward a second glance. It wasn't that he didn't care. He just didn't want to make it harder than it already was. Surely, Ed would be okay without his familiar presence for a few hours. He'd enjoy himself—or so Roy convinced himself. As Roy got back into his car, he forced the worry away. Right now, he had to go home and continue working on his research.

In the meantime, he had to think of how to tell Edward about his mother. He had promised the kid that he'd tell the truth. But he honestly didn't know if he could manage even that. What would he do if Ed broke down? Or even scarier, what if he locked up? It was common for Ed to act unaffected as a teenager, but as a child, he had proved to be most unpredictable.

Maybe Al could help. Surely as Edward's brother, he could think of some way to break it to him without it resulting in something terrible. There was no way to sugarcoat the news, but he wasn't very experienced in comforting people. If Edward were to break down, he'd probably have no idea what to do. Was it just best to avoid it? Certainly there was _something._

As Roy turned onto his street, he saw something in the road up ahead. As he got closer, he could see that it was an animal. It was too large to be a raccoon or cat. The closer he got, the more his stomach dropped. The colors on the animal was startlingly familiar. He stopped the car abruptly as he came upon it, getting out and moving over to the animal.

"Wolf..." The animal lay still, eyes open. Roy reached down to find the pulse on the dog's inner thigh, pressing his fingers to it to check for signs of life. When he found the area, he could just barely feel a pulse. A large, gaping wound was bleeding out on the side of the dog's chest, blood pooling out around his form. Roy knew he was suffering, and wouldn't make it.

After contemplating what to do, he frowned grimly. "I apologize." He said quietly. He then drew a transmutation circle from the dog's blood, activating it so that it sent shock waves through the dog's body strong enough to end it's suffering. He then closed the dog's eyes, gathering him into his arms and getting to his feet. Killing it was cruel, but it was better than prolonging it's suffering. How had he gotten out? Roy went to his back yard, setting the dog down in the grass and working on digging a grave. He stopped to wonder if he should have waited until Ed got home, but decided against it.

After finishing the hole, he moved the dog's body down into it and filled it up. He stood, silently staring at the mound of dirt for a long time. It was more of wondering how the animal had gotten out. He turned and sighed, going around the house and going inside. Now, he needed a shower and to do laundry. What a lovely day.

**oOoOo**

"Edward, would you like to help me wake Elicia up from her nap?" Gracia looked up at the boy as she finished drying a glass, offering him an understanding look when catching his sad expression. She placed the glass down, moving into the living room and taking a seat next to the child. "Ed?" She pressed, placing a hand on his head. Ed sniffed, trying to pull his head away. "He didn't say goodbye. Just like dad." He said, brows narrowed in hurt.

"Ed," Gracia moved her hand to place it under Edward's chin, moving his gaze to look at her, "Roy _isn't _your dad though. He's only taking care of you." She paused, thinking of how to continue. "He's not very educated with children." She added, smiling. "He wants to help you, and he's only looking out for you even though he doesn't show it very well."

Edward was quiet for a few minutes, not knowing how to reply. "Yeah." He finally said. "I'm sorry?" Gracia replied. "I'll help you wake up..uh..." "Elicia." "Yeah, her." Edward said, slipping off of the couch. "Good." Gracia replied, standing as well. "Let's go get her."

Strangely enough, Edward and Elicia got along despite the apparent age difference. The day went by pretty smoothly, and Edward of course forgot about his earlier conversation with Roy in the car. When Roy called to say that he was coming to pick Edward up, Gracia was sure to inform him that Edward had eaten dinner with them. "Ed, Roy is coming to pick you up now." Gracia said. Edward looked up from the piece of paper he was coloring on with Elicia.

"Really?" Edward asked, brows raising. "Yep. He finished his work for the day." She replied. "'Kay." Edward replied, before looking at Elicia for a moment. "I can come over and play some more though, right?" He asked, looking back to Gracia. "Of course, Ed. I don't mind." She said. Edward looked down. "Good." He replied. Several minutes later, the door was knocked upon. Gracia moved to answer it, stepping aside to allow Roy into her home.

"Mister Roy!" Edward abandoned his crayons, scrambling to his feet and running over to Roy. "Hey, I drew picture of you! Come see!" He declared, tugging Roy over to the place that he and Elicia had been drawing. Roy just followed, taking a look at the semi-poorly depicted picture of what was supposed to be him. "Only an artist in Alchemy..." He grumbled. "Huh?" Edward frowned, looking up. "Do you not like it?" He asked. Roy decided to go against saying how he truly thought.

"No, Edward, I don't." He replied. When Edward's face fell, he continued. "I love it." He added. Edward blinked, looking up. "Huh? You do?" He asked. "Yes." Roy replied, before turning. "You ready to go?" He asked. Ed nodded. "Yep! Lemme say bye first, though." He said, before turning to Elicia. "Elicia, I gotta go now. But I'll come back later, kay?" He said. Elicia was a bit sad that he had to leave, but nodded. "'Kay..." She trailed off, before holding a picture up. "Here." She said. Edward blinked. "Oh, you drew Wolf! Thanks, I'll be sure to show it to him!" He beamed.

Roy was once again faced with what he had to tell Edward. So many things had happened after he got home; at least he had managed two hours of research at least, with the help of some friends. "Get your coat, Ed." Roy said tiredly, before going to the door. Ed caught his tone, going to do as he was told. Roy looked to Gracia. "Thanks for having him over." He said. "No problem at all, Colonel. He's a very well behaved child." She said. Roy merely nodded in quiet reservation as Ed came up to him.

The duo left the house, and it was only when they were on their way home did either one of them talk. "So, did you enjoy Gracia's cooking?" He asked. "It didn't have a lot of flavor." Edward mumbled. Roy rolled his eyes. "Jeez, you're dissing everyone's cooking, it seems. Isn't there anything you like?" He asked. "Yes, I like a lot of things. They're just not as good as they used to be." Ed replied. Roy just nodded, and silence ensued for the next several minutes. Roy pulled the car to a stop in front of a convenience store, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Mister Roy? Why did we stop?" Ed asked, looking at him. "Ed...I have to tell you something. How well do you take bad news?" He asked. "What happened?" Ed replied, ignoring the question. "Ed...on my way home, I..." Roy didn't even want to finish. But he knew he had to. "I saw an animal laying in the road. I want you to know that everything happens for a reason, and—," "Wolf's...dead, isn't he?" Ed asked, quietly and slowly. When Roy didn't reply, Ed looked down. "No..no way, we helped him get better...we helped him, didn't we? So he wouldn't...there's no way..." Roy felt even worse when Ed started crying.

"Dammit. Ed, please try to understand. He died, and there was a reason for it. It may not be here, but somewhere, he was needed. For what, I don't know, but he isn't suffering." Roy was no good at explaining things. "No, I could have done _something! _Maybe if we didn't go anywhere, he would still be here!" He cried. "It's all my fault!" "Dammit Ed, stop! It's just as much my fault as it is yours! I wasn't there either!" Roy couldn't help but yell; he felt powerless. "We'll get through this." He said. "In the meantime, we have guests visiting with us. Please be polite, okay?" Roy knew Ed was feeling hurt, but he didn't know what to do or say.

The rest of the ride was spent in mostly silence, save for Ed's crying. Roy didn't know what would make him feel better. They made it back to the house shortly after the talk, Roy pulling the car up to the side of the house. Edward got out of his seat, running up to the door. Roy followed after him, pulling the key out of his pocket to unlock the door. Once he unlocked it, Ed pushed it open and went inside. Roy followed, closing the door behind him. "Ed, I think you know who are guests are." He said. Edward stopped, scrubbing at his eyes before looking up at Roy. Roy nodded his head towards the living room, and Edward headed down the hall to check it out.

When he came to the living room, he stopped. He wasn't sure what to make of the people before him. "...Winry? Is that you?" He asked. Why did she look like a lady? Wasn't she supposed to be his age? "What's going on?" He asked. Winry looked up, seeing Ed in the doorway. "Edward!" She got up, moving over to him. "Are you alright? Are you feeling well?" She crouched down to look at him, studying his face. "I'm sorry, Edward..." It was pretty obvious that Roy had told him about his dog. She embraced him, pulling him close to her. Ed was at a loss, and instead started crying again.

Al sat away from the two, trying to digest the sight. Ed really _was _little. But he had his limbs back. How was that possible? "Colonel," he looked passed the pair at the man, "he has his body back. How did that happen?" He asked. "His body...it's the same body he had as a child. I honestly don't know the why or how. But Alphonse, I don't think it's a good idea to leave him like that." He said. There was bound to be a danger in this situation. "I still don't know much about the transmutation circle that was used on him, but we need to find a way to get him back to normal."

Roy knew Ed wasn't paying attention. Al just nodded quietly. Edward pulled away a few minutes later. "I heard Al. Where is he?" He asked, looking around. He stopped on the suit of armor, eyes narrowing. Silently, he crept over to it. He then crossed his arms. "Al, what did mom tell you about playing in dad's armor?" He asked. Al was actually pretty speechless. "Uh...sorry brother." He said. "Well? Get outta there." Ed replied. Al looked up at both Roy and Winry, begging for a save.

Roy cleared his throat. "Edward, it's about time you took a bath, isn't it?" He asked. "What? No way, I—," "Ed." "...Fine..." Ed scoffed, turning. "Later, Al." He mumbled, before going and disappearing down the hall. "So, what do we tell him?" Winry asked, taking a seat on the couch. "Honestly? I don't know. He's going to know that Al _is _the suit of armor eventually. I don't think he can be told anything other than the truth." Roy replied, dragging a hand through his hair. "But telling him that? He's only five years old right now!" Al cried. "Don't you think I know that?" Roy replied angrily.

"Al...Roy may be right." Winry replied. "We came to see him. The least we could offer is an explanation. He must be so confused..." Either way he would be. Edward was a practical child, never one for believing in magical things other than the norm. "I've got it!" Al spoke up. "Alchemy training!" Both Roy and Winry stared at Al. "What?" Roy asked. "Alchemy training. I could tell brother that I'm staying in the armor as a part of Alchemy training, and it's against the rules for me to come out." He said. "He should take it seriously, being an alchemist in training and all." He added.

"Wow. That's crazy enough to work. But what about Winry?" Roy asked, motioning to the girl. "Uh...we could say that we just don't know why she's like that." Al said. "I mean, if we don't know, we don't know. Right?" Al replied. "Well...yeah, I guess so." Roy said. Hopefully, Al was right. That things would turn out okay. "I'm going to need your help on finding a way to fix this, Al. I found the transmutation circle used, but I still have no clue as to how to counteract the effects." He added. Al nodded. "Understood." He said.

They'd definitely get to the bottom of this.

**OooOo  
**

**Well, hope you guys enjoyed. Er...somewhat, anyway. I know it's probably not as good as my sister would have done, but the ball _does _have to get rolling eventually. n.n; Let me know if I did a good job!**


	8. Chapter 8

**GM: Er, nothing much gets done in this chapter. XD Mainly screwing around before the plot semi-explodes. I decided to put a little more parental in before carrying on. Roy gets a little OOC here due to mini-Ed.**

**Review Replies**

**I Love Vladimir D. Cloud: **Thanks! My writing style isn't the same as SomethingOfImportance, but I _am_ doing my best. XD;

**ELOSSS Alchemist: **Lol, thanks. :D I think he took it fairly well, but it pretty much could've gone worse.

**oOoOo**

When Edward finished his bath, Roy brought him into the living room so Al could explain everything to him. "Just tell me already, I'm tired of being lied to." Edward mumbled grumpily, plopping down on his bottom. He was upset that Wolf was gone, happy that Al and Winry were here, and angry because he was confused and everybody was telling him stories as to what was going on.

"Well brother, to tell you the truth, we don't know what happened to Winry," Al said, "but I'm in this armor because I'm going through a special kind of Alchemy training. I found it in one of dad's books! But it's against the rules to come out..." He said.

"What if you have to go potty? Then what?" Edward asked, crossing his arms. "Plus, that armor is way bigger than you! Explain _that._" Al sighed.

"Brother, I can't tell you. It's secret." He explained.

"This is stupid..." Edward didn't like their answers.

"It may be Edward, but you know we can't help it." Winry piped up.

"Shut up, Winry," Edward replied with an angry pout, "nobody asked you."

Winry's blood boiled. The little brat! But...that was how Ed acted around her when they were little. Even then—when he was being himself—he was quite rude to her.

"Ed! I told you to behave!" Roy barked, irritated.

Edward turned, eyes narrowed as he stuck his tongue out at Roy. He then turned back to Alphonse. "You guys came to visit me, right? Can you stay?" He asked. Al nodded.

"We're staying until things get worked out, yeah." He replied.

"Good!" Edward rejoiced as the phone in the Kitchen rang.

Roy excused himself, and Winry decided to pick up the conversation.

"So Ed, do you like staying here with Roy?" She asked.

"Mhm! He's nice, but sometimes he can be mean." He said.

"Oh really now?" Winry asked comically, brow lifting as a discreet smile settled onto her face. Edward nodded.

"Mhm! I did have a puppy too, but..." He trailed off, and Winry frowned.

"I heard Edward. I'm really sorry." She said.

When her and Al had stopped by, they let themselves in after no answer. Upon entering, they had seen the dog sitting by the back door. Al had let it out to go to the bathroom, but the pup had never returned. Edward just nodded quietly.

"Have you heard anything about my mom?" He asked. Winry hesitated; she had been hoping Edward wouldn't ask.

"Well...the search is still on-going, so I can't really be sure. But she has help, so I'm sure she's fine." She said quietly. She felt terrible about lying to him, but he at least seemed to take it well.

"Yes lieutenant, thank you." Roy hung the phone up, moving back into the living room. "Lieutenant Hawkeye has insisted that you two stay at her place while she's out of town. There's a key under her doormat." He spoke, moving to take a seat on the other side of the couch opposite to Winry.

"Oh? Well, that was very kind of her to offer." Winry replied. It would probably be cheaper then renting a hotel, and there was little chance of them being able to stay with Roy and Edward. Considering that the house only had one bedroom, it'd probably be best.

"Well, I think it's time to wrap it up for the day. It's usually the time Edward goes down." Roy said.

"What? No! I can stay up, honest! I don't want them to leave!" Edward practically clung to Winry's legs, a defiant pout that was probably an attempted glare masking the blonde's face.

"Aw, don't worry Ed. We'll be back tomorrow!" Al spoke up this time, and Ed found himself hesitant.

"B-But..." The child looked about ready to cry.

"Well...we could stay until you fall asleep. Sound good?" Al asked.

Edward merely nodded a bit pitifully.

"Alright. I'll come sit in the room and talk to you." Al replied, nodding. Well, it was what they had used to do as children. Edward scrambled back to Roy's room, and Al got up to follow him.

Winry and Roy were left in silence then, and neither seemed to want to talk. Finally, it was Roy who broke the silence. "Do you need a ride to the house?" He asked.

"Well, it'd be nice, but leaving Edward alone to take us somewhere probably wouldn't be that good of an idea." Winry admitted.

"True. Leaving him alone would probably be dangerous." He said, a bit darkly. _'Especially with the Homunculi after him...'_ He mused as an after thought.

"Sir?" Winry tilted her head at his tone.

Roy shook his head. "I was just thinking." He said, before getting to his feet. He went into the Kitchen, picking the phone up. He'd have Havoc take them to Riza's house. He returned several minutes later, just as Al came back down the hall.

"He's asleep, Colonel." Al spoke up, quietly.

"Havoc will drive you two to Lieutenant Hawkeye's place." Roy replied, resting against the door jamb. Al nodded.

"How much progress have you made exactly, Colonel?" He asked wearily, soulful eyes appearing sad.

"Honestly? Not much. Taking care of him has been a chore in itself, but like I told you earlier, I've been given orders." Roy spoke firmly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "It's been harder these last few weeks especially." He added. Alphonse just nodded, a bit reserved.

He wanted to help Ed, yet the whole situation was really hitting home. What if they never found an answer? Did Ed have to grow up all over again? _Would _he? A hand came to rest on his arm, and he looked up at Winry. "Don't worry, Al. We'll figure this out." She said softly, albeit sadly. She was also worried, but she had to be strong. All too soon however, Havoc came to pick them up, and Roy found himself retiring to bed shortly after. Tomorrow would definitely be busy, after all.

**oOoOo**

The night would have carried on into morning soundly, had Roy not been woken up by a horrific, hair-raising scream. He jumped, startled awake as he frantically attempted to find the source of the noise. His eyes landed on the couch just feet away from his bed, where Edward was thrashing in his sleep and crying out helplessly. Heart pounding, Roy got out of bed and went around to get to the child. "Edward! Edward, wake up!" It was obvious that he was in some kind of nightmare. After a few seconds, golden eyes popped open as if a gun had gone off. Blonde bangs were sticking to Edward's forehead in perspiration, and he looked downright distraught.

"Ed, calm down! What happened?" Roy asked, attempting to calm him. The kid was pretty much a blubbering mess, curled into a tight ball and sobbing pitifully. He couldn't even talk, mumbling incoherently as his brain tried to make sense of what he had seen. Roy picked him up, setting him in his lap and allowing him to cling to him. Whatever it was, he had to get it out and calm down. He grimaced when he felt his pajama bottoms become wet, taking note that Edward had probably had another accident. Lovely. After a few minutes of Edward clinging to Roy like a lifeline, he seemed to calm down to at least get something out.

"I-I, Al, he, a-and mom, I c-can't..." He was shaking and stuttering so badly that it sent him back into hysterics just thinking of what he was saying.

Roy's brows shot up in recognition. He knew what the kid had 'dreamed', even with just those few words: the failed transmutation. "Calm down Ed, it was just a nightmare, shh," He soothed, rubbing circles on his back.

"I-I wanna talk to my mom!" Ed sobbed helplessly; the dream was all too real and it scared him.

"Ed, not at..." Roy glanced at his clock, "two in the morning. We'll talk about it tomorrow. I want to get you cleaned up before you go back to bed." Washing the couch was a major pain in the ass, but the kid _did _need somewhere to sleep.

After getting the majority of the mess cleaned, Roy put Edward back down to sleep and slipped into his own bed. Not five minutes later, he could hear the slightly uneven breathing reverberating from his side of the bed. He cracked an eye open, looking straight at Edward. "What?" He asked.

Edward bit down on his lower lip. "Can I please sleep with you?" He asked, sniffling. He was still pretty shaken up.

Roy sighed. "Fine...other side." He replied. Edward nodded vigorously, scrambling around to the other side and slipping in next to Roy. He snuggled up closer to him than was necessary, causing Roy to utter a groan of slight annoyance. Edward couldn't help it, though; Roy was his only source of security right now, and he'd take it even if it wasn't Al or his mom.

Roy settled back down to sleep, and was finally about to nod off several minutes later when an odd sound met his ears. His eyes slid open and he frowned; he had never heard the noise before. Brows furrowing perturbedly, he pulled the covers back a little and looked at Edward. Had the kid been his raging teenaged self, Roy would have laughed at the sight. The tiny alchemist was actually sucking his thumb. Right now though, it just confused Roy. He hadn't ever seen Edward do that, even when this whole situation started. It was definitely something to keep an eye on. Letting go of the thought, he finally managed to slip into a light sleep.

**oOoOo**

"Edward, finish your cereal so we can go. We're already running late." Roy had received a call at seven that morning from the Fuhrer, who told him that he was to return to his office due to the massive amount of paperwork. Simply put, neither he nor Edward were happy about it.

"I'm not hungry." Edward shoved the barely touched bowl of cereal away, resting his head on his arms tiredly. Roy scoffed as he attempted to prepare a bag to bring with him for Ed. He wasn't very happy about having to bring the kid to work, but he was still under his watch.

"Come over here and pick out some toys to take with you, then." He said. Edward got out of his chair almost sluggishly, trudging over to his box of toys. Ten minutes later, they were out the door and headed to HQ.

"Hey, Roy! It's nice to see you're alive." Jean Havoc smirked at Roy as he entered the office.

"You saw me yesterday, Havoc." Roy replied.

Havoc regarded Edward with interest. "Hey there, shorty." He said, then smirked. Edward stopped, glaring at the blonde male.

"Who the heck are you calling short, dummy?" With that said, Edward stomped on Havoc's foot as hard as he could. The attack went ignored, as the state-issued boots were too thick to even barely feel the assault. Havoc just grinned, crouching and ruffling Edward's hair.

"Hey, just behave for the Colonel, alright?" He asked amusedly. Edward just pouted at him, before turning and running to catch up with Roy.

Not surprisingly, Edward had grown bored after the first ten minutes of sitting in Roy's office. He had become a bit nervous when a big burly man named Major Armstrong had come in to discuss some kind of topic that he had quickly lost interest in, but the nervousness died when the nice man had offered him some candy. Needless to say, he had devoured the sweet treat eagerly. After a few minutes of watching Roy fill out paperwork, Ed slipped off of his seat on the couch and marched up to Roy's desk. He placed his heels together, then mocked the salute that he had seen Major Armstrong do.

"Colonel Roy! Major Edward Elric, reporting for duty!" The words only slightly caught Roy off guard as he looked at the blonde over his stack of paperwork. He zeroed in on him, then chuckled.

"Ah, I see. You want something to do, Major Elric?" He asked, playing along.

"Sir, yes sir!" Edward took his hand down, rocking on his heels as the 'professional' air about him diminished. "I _can_ help, can't I?" He asked. Roy shook his head, an amused smile tracing his lips. The day Edward complied with orders. It was actually making him feel a bit better.

"Alright Major. Take this stack of papers here to Officer Falman. He should be stationed outside this office with the others. You saw the man with gray hair, right?" He questioned.

"Sir!" Edward replied enthusiastically, before picking up the stack of papers and marching out of the room.

To Roy's surprise, the kid was taking his 'job' quite seriously. He watched from the open door as Edward handed the stack of papers to Falman, and they both exchanged a short, friendly conversation before Edward returned. He came back to Roy's desk, standing as tall as he could. "Report, major?" Roy asked.

"The papers were delivered safely! No problems to report, Colonel!" Edward replied, saluting once more. He then relaxed. "Hey, I brought my Lincoln Logs that Mister Breda got me!" He said suddenly, before turning on his heel. Thus, the game was brought to an end as Edward went to retrieve the toys.

After about an hour, Roy's office was a mess, random toys littering the floor. In the middle of it all,

Edward was laying on top of a book fast asleep. Roy glanced at the clock, before finishing the document before him and getting up to tidy the floor. He was sure to be quiet as to not wake the kid, and once he was satisfied he moved over to Edward and carefully moved him to the couch. They still had a few hours before lunch. After picking up the book that had been underneath the blonde, Roy took his military jacket off and draped it over Edward. He then returned to his desk to finish up what paperwork that he could.

When noon came, Roy woke Edward to get something to eat. Edward wandered out of the room ahead of Roy, now wearing the man's jacket that was pooling at his feet. He didn't seem to be feeling well, but at least tried to act happy. "Edward, do you know what you want to eat? They're serving hamburgers and spaghetti." Roy spoke, looking down at the kid.

"I'm not," Edward looked down at his stomach as it grumbled loudly, "guess I am..." He mumbled. Roy's brows furrowed.

"How could you not be? You didn't even eat this morning." He replied.

"It doesn't sound good." Edward replied vaguely, noncommittally.

"What doesn't?" Roy replied confusedly.

"Everything." Was all Edward said, then grew quiet.

"Well, do you want something to drink then?" Either Edward was deliberately lying, or something was wrong. Roy stopped and crouched to look at him. He seemed fine, other than a little pale and flushed. But he had just woken up, so it was probably normal. "Just drink some apple juice for me." Roy said finally.

"'Kay..." Edward replied slowly, continuing to follow him. "Can you carry me Mister Roy?" He asked. That confirmed Roy's suspicions further of the child not feeling well.

"Yeah." Roy picked him up, carrying him the rest of the way to the mess hall.

The room was bustling with noise, and Roy was quick to find his subordinates chatting at a table near the entrance. He made his way over to them, placing Edward down next to Fuery. "I'm going to go get something to eat. I order you all to watch him." Roy then went to go get some food, and Edward moved to rest his head on his arms much like that morning.

"Hey, you alright kid?" Havoc asked. Edward shrugged half-heartedly, eyes drooping slightly. "Looks like you didn't get your nap out." Havoc replied.

"Don' need a nap..." Edward mumbled. Roy returned shortly with his lunch, setting a carton of apple juice in front of Ed.

"Drink that." He said.

Edward nodded, taking a sip out of the straw. He merely blinked, looking at the carton funnily. "I can't taste it..." He mumbled.

Roy frowned. "What?" He asked, leaning down to hear Edward over the chatter.

"I can't _taste _this." Edward replied.

"What do you mean you can't taste it?" Roy was confused. What in the world did the kid mean?

"It's wet, but it has no taste." Edward said.

Roy took a bite of his spaghetti, then held a forkful up to Ed. "Try this." He replied.

Edward opened his mouth, allowing Roy to feed it to him. After swallowing the bite, he shook his head. "Uh-uh." He said.

"Not that either?" Now Roy was a bit confused. How could Edward not taste it? The other soldiers seemed just as confused. "Should I take him to see Dr. Knox or something?" Roy questioned.

Edward squirmed. "No, I don' wanna see a doctor!" He cried.

"But Edward, this could be serious!" Roy countered.

"I'll take him, Colonel. I'm done with my lunch." Breda spoke up.

"Edward, go with Breda." Roy said, looking down at the blonde.

"But—," Edward started to reply, but Roy beat him to it.

"That's an order, Major Elric." Roy interrupted him, pulling rank. Edward just sighed, slipping out of his seat and going to follow Breda. Roy's coat was still hanging off of him as he walked, which caused Havoc and Feury to laugh.

"Geez, I think that's the only time I've ever seen Ed willingly wear any part of the military uniform." Havoc said. Roy just nodded, quietly working on finishing his lunch. Now, he was just worried

**oOoOo**

"I assume you're here to see how Fullmetal is?" Dr. Knox stood at the door of his clinic, staring back at Roy.

"Affirmative, Dr. Knox. Did you find anything?" Roy asked.

"Well," Dr. Knox rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He has some sinus blockage, but it's not severe enough to have caused such an extreme case of not being able to taste. I could be wrong, though. I'm going to give you a nasal solution. You should give it to him twice a day, it doesn't matter when." Breda stood behind Roy, scratching his head.

Roy nodded. "Fine by me." He replied. Edward came out a few minutes later, looking a little better.

Dr. Knox returned a few moments after as well, handing Roy a bag. "I gave him some juice and crackers. Is getting him to eat or drink that much of a chore?" He asked.

"Only recently, doctor." Roy replied.

Dr. Knox nodded. "Well, just be sure he takes that solution and come back in a week." He mumbled dismally. "I gave him his first dose while he was back here."

"Thanks, Dr. Knox." Roy replied.

"Yeah, whatever." Dr. Knox replied carelessly, waving a hand. "Geez, don't you people know that stiffs are my only casualty?" He mumbled indifferently as he disappeared into his office.

Edward blinked, before looking up at Roy. "Mister Roy, what's a stiff?" He asked.

Roy looked down at him, frowning. "A dead person." He replied simply, before dragging a hand through his hair.

"He works on dead people? Why?" Edward persisted.

"I don't know, why am I answering these questions?" Roy was a bit exasperated now.

"Cause I wanna know everything! Duh." Edward then skipped ahead down the hall, and Roy took notice that he was still wearing his jacket.

"Hey, I need my jacket back, Ed!" He called, following after him.

"No! I look per-fes-shun-al!" Edward replied. Roy shook his head. _'Professional? Yeah, right.'_ He thought. That was not professional at all. He caught up with the blonde after a minute, plucking his jacket off of the blonde's shoulders. "Hey!" Edward cried.

"I have to wear it, Ed. It's part of my uniform." Roy replied firmly. Edward pouted angrily, crossing his arms. Roy stopped, placing his hand on Edward's head. "Why don't we go visit Al and Winry when we're done here? We can meet up at the Library." He said, in order to tackle the child's growing bad mood.

"Really?" The mood instantly diminished as Edward turned hopeful golden eyes onto Roy. Roy nodded, trying to remain indifferent before the sudden secret weapon.

"Yeah." He replied. He genuinely hoped that Edward didn't make the connection that using the puppy dog stare could probably get him anything he wanted; that'd be trouble for him more than anybody.

After returning to the office, Roy sat down to call Riza's house. If he was lucky, the two were there and not roaming about. Luckily, Winry answered the phone after the third ring.

"_Hello?" _She greeted.

"Hello, Winry. I was hoping you and Alphonse could meet us at the Library. Say about 3:30?" Roy asked. He'd most definitely be done with his paperwork by then.

"_Sounds good. I'll tell Al." _Winry replied. She hung up shortly after, and Roy got back to work on tackling his documents.

Edward sighed wistfully, plopping down on the ground next to Roy. "I'm bored, Mister Roy." He declared.

"Play with your toys." Roy replied, starting to read the first document he had grabbed.

"I already did." Edward replied evenly. "Can I go look around? I promise I won't touch anything." He just wanted something to do.

"Fine. Just stay on the floor." Roy replied, not looking up from the document.

"Okay." Edward said, before turning and strolling out of the office and down the hallway.

"'Ey, Ed, where are you goin'?" Havoc glanced at him from his desk.

"For a walk," Edward mumbled, stopping, "m'bored." He added.

"Huh. Well, don't go too far." Havoc replied, flashing a grin at the blonde.

Edward nodded. "I won't! Mister Roy already told me to stay on the floor. Whatever that means." Edward then shrugged, before carrying on. It wasn't a very interesting building, honestly. After a few minutes, he saw a few people step out of the box that had he had come out of earlier with Roy. He blinked, before wandering over and going in. He stopped, looking around.

This box had buttons next to the door. Curiously, he pressed the highest one—he could barely reach it—and became slightly frightened when the doors slid shut. The thought of becoming trapped quickly flooded his mind, and he frantically tried to escape as the box carried him to the top floor. What was going on? When the doors slid open, he barreled his way out into the hall. Now he was even more confused. Doors lined each side of the hall, and at the end was a heavy double door. Edward frowned, deciding to go check it out.

Well, he could always go back when he was done. Fear dying away, he crept towards the end of the hall. He stopped when a Soldier appeared in front of the door. "Going somewhere?" The soldier asked, looking down at him skeptically.

Edward blinked at him, a bit clueless. "Um...where's that door go?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Oh, that leads to the Fuhrer's office. I'd suggest you go back, though. Only top ranking officials are allowed back here." The soldier replied. He knew who the kid was, but at this moment, his rank meant next to nothing if Colonel Mustang wasn't with him.

Edward whined in protest. "Aww, I just wanted to look..." He then turned, grumbling as he went back to the box. He went back inside, turning to stare at the buttons.

After looking at them for a while, he pressed the very bottom one. The doors then slid shut, and he was carried downward. He waited until the doors opened, rocking on his heels before stepping out. That was when he realized that this was not Roy's office; it was a very dimly lit hallway. Suddenly, the box behind him made an awful sound, and he spun around to push the button to open it. When it did nothing, he panicked; now he really _was_ stuck down here! He turned back, taking off down the hall to find a door. When he came upon one at the end of the hall, he worked on pushing it open with every ounce of strength he had. It was a very heavy door, really.

The room he came out to was even darker. But that wasn't what scared Ed as the door shut behind him. It was the many pairs of red eyes leering at him, as well as the growls coming from every wall. Edward whimpered, not liking the feeling that was filling the room. A loud, angry snarl rang out, and he had just enough time to jump out of the way when a large creature lunged from the darkness next to him.

It was held back by a chain, but it was definitely looking at him like he was it's next meal. Edward stumbled, only staring back at the hideous creature. He had never seen anything like it before. Several growls, moans, and shrieks filled the room shortly following the attack, which scared him even more. "Mister Roy!" He screamed, frantically. Why did he decide to do this? This wasn't what he wanted to do, he just wanted to look around! What was he gunna do now?

**oOoOo**

"Lieutenant Havoc, where is Edward?" Roy stepped out of his office, looking around. "He's been gone for nearly an hour." He added, a bit concernedly.

"I haven't seen him, Roy. In fact, I don't think I've even heard a peep out of him." Havoc replied, getting up. "Want me to help you look for him?" He asked.

"Yeah, he couldn't have gone far. I told him to stay on the floor." Roy replied. Although, he wasn't all that sure that the kid had listened to him. The elevator only came out to the office and the hallway, and Edward was certainly not in the office. Roy decided to go ahead and look in the hallway, soon returning empty handed. "Let's go check the elevator." He said. Havoc nodded. When they got there, two soldiers were in front of it. "What's the problem, men?" Roy asked.

"Elevator's been down for thirty minutes, Colonel." One soldier said.

"I see," Roy replied, "have either of you two seen Fullmetal about?" He asked.

"I caught him on the Fuhrer's floor about forty five minutes ago. I told him to come back down here. Did he not come back?" The other soldier asked.

"No, he didn't." Roy's eyes narrowed a bit angrily. "And he got back on the elevator?" He asked. When the soldier nodded, Havoc scoffed.

"Can't believe the kid could even reach the button for the top floor." He mused.

Roy passed him, leaving the office for the stairs.

Havoc turned to follow him. "Hey, Roy!" He called after the Colonel.

"When I find him, there won't be a piece of him left standing! I _told _him!" Roy barked furiously, stopping at the stairs. "There's no telling which floor he's on!" He added.

"What if he thought it was literal?" Havoc asked.

"What?" Roy's irritation died to confusion.

"Well, 'stay on the floor' would probably mean literally keeping your feet on the floor to him." Havoc explained, scratching the back of his head.

Roy scowled. "Surely, he isn't that stupid." He replied. He started down the stairs then, and Havoc had no choice but to follow him.

They searched the first few floors, but still came up with nothing. "We could check the bottom floor," Havoc said, "it surely wouldn't hurt."

Roy stood silently, contemplating. "Okay." He said, sighing and dragging his hands through his hair impatiently. With that, the two took off for the basement. Roy honestly hoped Ed hadn't gone down there, where the military held the Chimeras and other various experiments. It took them quite a while to reach the last flight of stairs, each one being counted in Roy's head. Upon entering the hallway, both Roy and Havoc kept their ears open for any sound of the child.

"I don't hear him." Havoc said.

Roy merely nodded as they made their way down the hall. "This place gives me the creeps. I can only imagine what it would do to Edward." He said.

"Yeah, just be sure to—," Havoc was interrupted as Roy called to the child.

"Edward!" Roy called, listening to see if their was a reply. Somewhere down the hallway they could hear a faint noise that sounded like crying. "Oh shit," he breathed, before taking off down the hall, "Edward!"

Havoc was on his heels as they both came upon the door to the room holding the Chimeras. It was there that they could clearly hear Ed's wailing from the other side of the door.

"Stand back, Havoc." Roy warned. He pulled the door open, and Edward came flying out. He attached himself to Roy's leg with a grip so hard it actually hurt. "Ed—,"

"Colonel, look out!" Havoc barely got the words out before Roy had snapped his fingers. Flames erupted forth, dancing towards the Chimera that had just tried to lunge for him.

Havoc moved to shut the door back while Roy grabbed Edward's arm. "What the hell did I tell you, Fullmetal?" He snapped angrily. Edward in reply only cried louder, causing Roy's brow to twitch spastically. "Learn to behave, do you hear me?" He then picked Edward up, turning to head back. "Come on, Havoc." He said, anger still raging on through him. Edward probably had no idea what could have happened in there!

"Coming, Colonel!" Havoc came up to follow him, frowning. Roy dejectedly handed Edward to Havoc, stepping ahead for the stairs. Havoc just sighed, not exactly sure what to do with the crying child. He didn't have kids, and was never generally around them. "Ed, calm down." He said.

Edward rubbed his eyes, still sniffling and hiccuping. He wanted to go home. He wanted everything to be normal again. "I want my mom..." He said quietly.

Roy refrained from turning back and yelling at him. Oh, how much he wanted to tell him that his mother was dead. He wanted him to stop asking for her. It was just making him feel worse.

After making it to the ground floor, Roy wordlessly took Ed from Havoc and left for the car. They were going to the Library. He hoped that the two didn't mind that they were running almost thirty minutes late. "I hope you know that if you ever disobey me again, I will _not _tolerate it like I did today." Roy said as he pulled out onto the road. He didn't care if the kid was a crying, sniveling mess. If he had listened, this wouldn't have happened.

**oOoOo**

**I kinda went crazy with this chapter if you couldn't tell. XD It's a little bit longer than the last one.**


	9. Chapter 9

**GM: Holy shit. I promise, this would have been up a day sooner, but the hand I use to type was hurting so bad I couldn't move it. I actually came down with some kind of stomach bug this morning, but I decided to finish this up for you guys. Hopefully you won't hate me _too _badly by the end of this chapter... [cough] Anyway, review reply time!**

**Review Replies  
**

**Tempestuosus Caeli: **Hey, thanks! I tried it out with this chapter, and fixed the last one up. You can let me know if I did it right or not, lawl. XD Thanks for the review!

**I Love Vladimir D. Cloud: **Indeed. D: It gets worse, though. [withers]

**ELOSSS Alchemist: **Lol, I know, right? XD I had to add that the second it entered my brain.

**Gothic-Romantic99: **Yeah, I agree. He woulda been toast. O.O I'm trying to make Roy seem caring, but not overly-parental. Like you said, he isn't formerly educated with children, but he is trying his best. =D

**The Spirit Water: **Indeed. :( Thanks for the review!

**Songbird Alchemist: **Oh, I'm great? =O Never heard that! Well, here's your update!

**TailsMoon: **Thanks! I updated as soon as possible. C=

**Hagane's Bodyguard: **Yes, he should. D: Baaaad Roy. But he was more worried than angry, I promise. XD

**RenOfAmestris: **Oh really? =D Yeah, I'm working hard to keep it the same as she would. XD Thanks for taking interest!

**Fullmetal Epicness: **Well, if he wasn't then, he will be in this chapter for sure. O.O

**oOoOo**

The ride to the Library was spent in a tense silence that nearly smothered both Ed and Roy. They were both just too angry to talk. Roy was angry because Ed hadn't listened to him. Edward was angry simply because Roy was angry. After parking the car outside of the Library, Roy turned the car off and got out. Edward got out as well, trudging inside ahead of Roy.

"Brother!" Alphonse called out to the blonde as Edward came in. Edward said nothing, merely coming over to sit at the table that Alphonse was seated at. "Hey, what's wrong brother?" Alphonse could tell something was up just by the look on Edward's face.

"Mister Roy yelled at me." He said angrily, then sniffed and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't done anything wrong, as far as he knew. All he had done was looked around, and he didn't touch anything other than what he had to.

"Why did he yell at you?" Alphonse turned to look at Roy as the obsidian eyed man walked into the building.

"It's because he was on the Chimera floor when I told him to stay on the same floor as my office," Roy answered for Edward, "he could have been killed if we hadn't found him when we did." He said, still angry.

Edward turned in his seat. "How was I s'posed ta know the floor meant that I couldn't use the box and stairs?" He asked angrily, eyes flaring up in defiance. This wasn't fair! Roy hadn't exactly specified what 'the floor' meant!

"If you weren't sure, why didn't you ask me?" Roy replied, towering over him almost threateningly. He scowled down at Edward, causing the child to shy away.

"Break it up you two! Honestly." Winry came in from the back of the Library, a book tucked under her arm. "Edward, why don't we go read some of the Alchemy texts?" She asked. Alphonse had said that he wanted to talk to Roy without Edward being where he could hear them.

"Okay..." Edward grumbled sourly, slipping off of his chair. He didn't even want to know why Al wasn't coming. He followed after Winry as she lead him away, leaving Alphonse and Roy alone so they could talk.

"So," Roy took a seat across from Alphonse, "what's on your mind?" He asked. He had noticed the boy's body language when he had come in, and it had seemed urgent.

"Well, Colonel, I was talking to Ed last night. He told me that a while back when he was at Fury's house, this woman came to him and told him that she would take him to see our mom if he did her a favor." He explained. "Did anything happen to him? He said he was told to stand in the middle of a transmutation circle." He added.

Roy's eyes narrowed as Alphonse spoke. "I'm sure something _did _happen. But I'm not sure what." He replied. He sat in thought for a few minutes, brows knitted. "Tell me, Alphonse..." He spoke after a moment, looking up at the suit of armor, "was Edward a picky eater as a child?"

"Only with milk." Alphonse replied. "He wouldn't drink it unless it was flavored. But now he won't drink it at all." He explained. "Wait, why are you asking?" He asked.

"I probably should have picked up on it sooner." Roy replied. "For a while now, he's been very peculiar about food. He's been complaining that everything is bland. And today, he couldn't taste anything at all." He explained. "I'm not sure if it's relevant, but it _is_ strange." He added.

Alphonse was quiet. "That doesn't sound like brother at all. He's never had that problem." He replied. This information worried him even more than he had been a few minutes before. "Maybe we should go look into transmutation circles having to do with senses?" It was the only lead they had to go on.

"Yeah, we could do that." Roy replied, getting to his feet. "Even with drinking chocolate milk, he's been putting at least a half cup of chocolate syrup in it, if not more." He said. Which, at that point, the substance would make anyone with taste buds sick to their stomach. He headed for the back left of the building, nodding to Alphonse to tell him to follow.

**oOoOo**

"Wow Ed, that's really neat!" Winry smiled as Ed explained some kind of transmutation circle to her. Of course she wasn't that interested. She was just acting to make Edward happy. Ed nodded, grabbing a blank piece of paper and a crayon. He drew out a transmutation circle, being careful to check it over before clapping his hands and slapping them to the paper. Blue electricity crackled, then died away slowly to reveal a paper sailboat.

"That's just basic stuff," Edward explained, "it can get way more complicated than that. Heck, I read in a book yesterday that several people have tried this type of alchemy that can bring the dead back to life. I think it's called human transmutation." He said thoughtfully. "Maybe one day, me and Al will be the first ones to bring a dead person back to life."

Winry was quiet, feeling just a tad upset when the blonde brought it up. So, they had been thinking about it even before they attempted to bring their mother back? "Ed, are you sure you want to do that? Isn't it dangerous? What about equivalent exchange?" She asked. She wished everyday that they had never attempted it, and Edward sitting and talking about it with such enthusiasm and determination made her feel sick.

"Of course it's dangerous. Everything in alchemy has risks." He said. He noticed the look on her face, frowning. "Aw, come on Winry, why are you upset? Did I say something wrong?" He asked. Had couldn't think of anything that he had said that would make her upset.

"It's nothing, Edward. I just wish I knew more about these things." Winry replied. "Why don't we go see what's in the children's section? Wouldn't you like to see stories with pictures instead of these boring old alchemy books?" She asked.

Edward contemplated her expression, before sighing. "Sure." He said. He was certain something was bothering her now. "I just wish you'd tell me what was wrong." He replied. He then turned, walking towards the other side of the library. Maybe he'd figure it out later? Who knew.

**oOoOo**

"Did you find anything, Alphonse?" Roy had met back at the table with the suit of armor, a single book tucked under his arm.

"No, I couldn't find a single one. But you did?" Alphonse asked, noting the book Roy carried. Receiving a single nod, Alphonse sat down. "Well, let's take a look!" Alphonse said eagerly. Roy sat down as well, setting the book on the table and opening in. They both skimmed each page carefully, making sure not to miss any details.

"This one!" Roy spoke up as he turned the page, finger pressing onto the transmutation circle, "this is the one that I saw Edward standing on!" He said. Nodding to Alphonse, they both started reading up on the circle and what it did.

"Truman's Cross," Alphonse read the title, "is a transmutation specializing in the human's five senses. Taste, Smell, Hearing, Sight, and Touch." He read. "Although there are many ways to use it, it's primary use is to enhance these five senses. In a rare case, it can be used to terminate them. This technique is used to..." Alphonse paused, turning the page. He read it silently, becoming a bit shocked.

At the sound of Al's surprise, Roy leaned in to see. "What does it say?" He asked.

Alphonse was quiet for a few moments before even bothering to continue. "It's used to kill. The first sense to go is taste, and once that goes, the rest are soon to follow. After taste is lost, it's nearly impossible to stop it. Eventually, all senses will shut down, and the damage will start destroying the insides gradually. It...it will in time reach the brain, which will quickly end the life of the one affected..." Alphonse trailed off. "Colonel, what do we do?" He asked, frantically.

"Dammit! Alphonse, don't worry. We'll figure this out, okay?" Roy wasn't even sure where to start. There was minimal information even relating to the transmutation circle. "We have to focus on this for now. Getting him back to normal will have to wait, I'm afraid." He added grimly. "I'm going to go to the State library for research. Could you and Winry watch Edward?" He hated to put responsibility on the two, but the kid was in danger and they needed to fix this quickly.

"Um, okay! Should I tell Winry?" Alphonse asked, getting to his feet.

"No. Keep this between us. Nobody needs to know outside of the military besides you. Hell, I'd rather not even get _them_ involved. I'll tell my team so they can help. But none of this should be told to Ed. Understood?" Roy's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"Of course, Colonel..." Alphonse tried to calm his disposition as he walked back to the area he had seen Winry and Ed go to. Once he found them, he saw Winry reading to Ed.

"... busy with a box of paints I happened to be tinting a map of an island I had drawn. Stevenson came in as I was finishing it, and with his affectionate interest in everything I was doing, leaned over my shoulder, and was soon elaborating the map and naming it. I—Oh, hey Al. Did you finish your talk with the Colonel?" She asked, acknowledging the boy's presence.

Alphonse nodded, a bit quietly. "Yeah, he updated me on what Ed's been up to." He replied, looking down as Edward came running over to him.

"Al, Winry's reading Treasure Island! Come on, you can listen too." He said. Alphonse sighed. Apparently, Edward didn't notice his maturity. Or if he did, he ignored it and continued to think of him as his four-year-old little brother.

"Uh...Yeah, okay!" Al replied, sort of at a loss. He moved over to Winry, sitting down next to Edward after the blonde sat down himself. Winry merely picked up where she left off, reading until Edward declared boredom.

"So what should we do, then?" Winry asked, closing the book and setting it aside. "We could go to something to eat. Are you hungry, Ed?" She looked at the boy, who shook his head.

"Nonsense!" Al said, "the Colonel told me you didn't eat breakfast, and only had crackers for lunch." He added. His point was emphasized when Edward's stomach conveniently growled. "See? You're hungry." He said.

Edward frowned. "But I don't want to eat." He said, simply. Why couldn't they understand? There was no point in eating if he didn't enjoy it. He felt hungry, but he didn't want the food since he knew he couldn't taste anything.

"Ed, your body needs food. Even if you don't feel good, eating is always a normal, healthy part of life. So we're going to go to a Cafe, and you'll only have to get something small. Any amount is good." Winry explained. Edward looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway. "Good. I'll call a cab." Winry stood from her seat, leaving for the entrance of the Library.

Edward was quiet when she left. He looked straight ahead, deep in thought. Alphonse looked down at him, worried. Was he going to be okay? Could they fix this? He caught the troubled look that flashed across his brother's face, and decided to speak up. "Brother, what's wrong?" He asked. He almost looked terrified.

"Alphonse..." Edward moved into the suit of armor's lap, carefully standing up. When his small hands reached for Al's helmet, Al grabbed his arm gently.

"Brother, I told you. It's secret. What's wrong?" Alphonse asked quietly.

Edward looked down. "Are you really in there?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer. "Don't lie to me. I just want the truth. Let me see inside." He said. When Alphonse was hesitant to reply, Edward pulled his hand away. Al relaxed, trying to think of how to reply. Suddenly, Edward rammed his fist into the side of Al's helmet, knocking it off.

"Guys! I got the..." Winry stopped, staring at the scene she had walked in on. Alphonse sat still, speechless. His helmet was sitting five feet away on it's side, and Edward had his face pressed against the suit of armor's chest. "Edward?" Winry stepped forwards, picking Al's helmet up. Edward didn't reply, just shaking his head. Winry spoke, quietly. "Edward, I know this looks bad, but—,"

"You both _lied _to me," Edward said slowly, pulling away from Al and stepping off of him, "What did I do to make you not trust me? All I wanted was to know what was going on and you couldn't even tell me that!" He turned to Winry, glaring at her. "I did nothing to you! Why are you lying to me?" He then ran past her, leaving the library and tearing off down the sidewalk. By the time that Winry and Al made it out to look for him, he was gone.

**oOoOo**

"Envy, I can't even begin to understand why you want to do this. He's not even our objective anymore." Lust stood atop one of the many buildings in Amestris, unamused eyes trained on the Homunculus at her side. Envy had spoken about toying with the Fullmetal Alchemist for a while now. And as they were sitting on the roof of a corner shop, Envy felt that now was the time to 'drop in'.

"I don't see why I can't have a little fun with the pipsqueak before his life ends. Make him think everything's okay for the moment; take him somewhere secluded. Then, I can take everything he knows and trusts and crush him with it. Just like a little bug. Sloth has agreed." Envy went on to say, watching Edward as he fled the Library.

"That's only because she wants to see him suffer." Lust replied uninterestedly, looking back at the female Homunculus sitting behind her. Sloth was dressed identical to Trisha Elric, simple purple dress underneath a white apron.

"It can't be too hard to play the pipsqueak's mom. She has the wench's memories, after all." Envy rolled his eyes, not catching the glare Sloth shot at him. He did feel the force of water hit him in the back of the head, however, and turned. "What the hell was that for?" He snarled angrily.

"Insulting me." Sloth replied, standing. "We should go if you want to do this." She said impatiently. True, the only reason she was agreeing to this was to watch the older Elric suffer. That was just a joy she could indulge in, watching everything the child knew turned into a twisted nightmare.

"Fine with me." Envy replied. With that, his body started morphing and changing, alchemy crackling around his form. Once it died down, Sloth only smiled. "Come along, Alphonse. Time to go pick up your brother."

**oOoOo**

Ed continued walking away from the Library, eyes trained on the ground. Why was he here? Was everybody lying to him? What was really going on? Despite Mister Roy's lack of attempts to hurt him, Edward knew something was up. Had he been kidnapped like he had first thought? Why were these people so nice to him? Miss Riza was kind to him, and so were all the people who worked with Mister Roy. They didn't seem to want to hurt him. He sat down outside of a post office, resting his arms on his knees and lowering his head to sit on his arms. Something just _wasn't _right.

"Brother!" Edward looked up at the call, ready to run. But when his eyes met the human orbs of his little brother's, he got to his feet. "Brother, where have you been? Mom, I found Ed!" The supposed little boy called out to the woman that deeply resembled his mother as she stepped out of the nearby corner store.

Edward couldn't help it as his eyes filled with tears. "M-Mom?" Without hesitation, he ran to her and wrapped his arms around her middle, burying his face into her apron.

Sloth choked back whatever reaction she wanted to have, instead pushing Edward away at arm's length and crouching to place her hands on his shoulders. "Where have you been, Edward? Are you hurt? I've been worried sick!" Playing the part of a devastatedly worried mother, Sloth embraced the child tightly. She gave Envy a disgusted look over Edward's shoulder, soon pulling away. "There there, my little man, tell me what happened." She said.

"W-Well, I woke up in this place with this man named Mister Roy, and he told me you were looking for dad, and he was taking care of me, and this big, empty suit of armor was claiming to be Al, and this woman said she was Winry! I don't—I missed you guys so much!" Edward started to cry again, and Sloth picked him up.

"Shh, it's okay now, Ed. You're back with us." Sloth let her feelings go, settling in to play the part of Trisha Elric. "Come along, Alphonse. It's time to go back." She said warmly. Envy nodded his head, running to catch up with her. After Sloth caught a cab, they headed back 'home'.

"Where are we? This isn't our house." Edward got out of the car after Sloth, looking up at the shabby looking house.

"Well, we've been staying here under the military's watch." Sloth replied, frowning. She then shook her head. "Well then, why don't we go inside? I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do." She said.

"We sure do!" Envy said enthusiastically, hopping out of the back seat. "C'mon brother!" This was actually much easier than he first thought it would be. How simple a human's life was. A child's life, even. Someone to take care of you, no worries, just doing whatever you wanted. Hell, it wasn't even hard to take on the poor sap's personality. But the fun part wouldn't come until he was able to crush Ed. Just like a bug.

**oOoOo**

"...and we can't find him anywhere!" Al stood outside of the phone booth, phone held to where an ear would be if he had one.

"_Damn it! I knew I should have told him everything...maybe if we had told the truth, he wouldn't be gone. Listen, I'll come to you two. In the mean time, ask around to see if you can get any leads."_ Roy hung up shortly following the order, quickly leaving the State library. Hopefully, Alphonse would find _something_ before he arrived.

Al handed the phone to Winry, who hung it up. "He said to ask around and see if anyone's seen him..." He said worriedly. Ed would never go with anyone he didn't know willingly unless there was a good reason. Had he been kidnapped? They had scoured the few blocks from where they had started, and hadn't seen him anywhere.

"So where do we start looking?" Winry asked, sighing hopelessly.

"Just start asking! Somebody's had to have seen him..." Al went ahead, starting to ask person after person if they'd seen Ed. He described him as well as he could, but still received many answers that were negative. It wasn't until he approached an old woman several minutes later with Edward's description that he got anywhere.

"I saw a little boy matching that description. He was with a woman that had brown hair. She was wearing a purple dress and an apron," the woman said, pondering as her brows furrowed, "and I want to say she had another little boy with her, a little taller than the one you're describing. He had dark blonde hair brushed to the side. I believe they took a cab heading towards the neighborhood by the Museum on 3rd street." She explained. "Wait, he seemed to know them. Are you sure he was kidnapped?" She asked confusedly.

Alphonse just stared at the woman, unseen disbelief coming from him. "Thank you!" He said abruptly, before turning and going the way he came. According to the description...it wasn't good, at any rate. He shook off the rising fear within him, working on finding Winry. It didn't take him long to stumble upon her, talking to Roy. "A woman saw him!" He called, making his way over.

"What? Roy turned away from Winry to look at Alphonse. "Did she see who took him?" He asked.

"Yeah, but according to their descriptions—It's not possible! It doesn't even add up!" He replied. "But the description said that he went with me and our mom..." He didn't understand how this worked!

"Did she happen to say where they were going?" Roy replied, keeping his calm disposition open.

"Yes, she said that they took a cab headed to Greenfield Acres," Al replied, "but what are we supposed to do? I don't think Edward would believe us if we told him that we were the real ones!" He added.

Roy nodded, turning. "Get in the car you two." He said, before turning to the said vehicle behind him and getting into the driver's seat. Winry had just enough time to close her door before Roy drove off towards the neighborhood. "We have to find him as soon as possible..." Roy mumbled, more to himself than to the two in the back. He didn't even know if Ed would live long enough to get this resolved. Not even the State library had much information on the particular transmutation.

As Roy entered the neighborhood, his gaze settled on one house in particular. "Who's willing to bet that's the house?" He asked flatly, eyes narrowing. They couldn't have gotten any more subtle if they had put a neon sign in the front yard. "We'll sit here and observe for a while. Just barging in could be dangerous."

**oOoOo**

"It's really dark in here. Isn't there a light somewhere?" Edward stood in the middle of what he thought was a living room. The whole house was covered in dust as if nobody had lived there in years. Even the furniture looked as if it were falling apart.

"Well dear...we haven't had time to fix the lights." Sloth replied, crossing her arms. Edward looked back at her, finding the tone in her voice to be a bit odd. It almost sounded forced. "What's wrong, Ed?" Sloth's eyes narrowed. "Don't you want to tell me how you failed me? You've been a very, _very _bad boy."

For the first time in his life, Edward felt terrified of his mother. Why was she acting this way? What had he done?

"Yes, brother," Envy went on to say, "why didn't you save me from the Gate? I thought you cared!" All of a sudden, Envy's form changed, growing taller above Ed. His hair grew, body taking on an emaciated look; bones jutted out from his skin at odd angles. Of course, this was only a guess of how the armor's body would look if it were in the gate. "Look what you've done, brother! It's all your fault!

Edward's eyes grew double their size, and he slowly took a few steps back. "No, I...I didn't do that! How could I have? I..It doesn't make sense..." His voice came out, quiet and disbelieving. What was this thing? It wasn't his brother!

"You did it, Edward!" Envy shouted in mock sadness, face twisting into a hardened stare. Then, a nasty smirk curled at his lips. "Now, don't you feel awful? You've practically killed us both, Ed!"

Edward's knees buckled, sending him into a heap on the floor. He could feel something festering in the back of his mind, pain overtaking his head as it grew. Just when he felt that his head would explode, a loud gunshot rang out. Edward's eyes widened as a bullet went over his head, which embedded itself into Envy's arm.

Envy screamed as blood splattered from the fresh wound, his form quickly reverting to it's normal appearance. "Damn you...!" He howled in rage as the front door was knocked off of it's hinges. Fire blasted through, engulfing Envy's body. Sloth was nowhere to be seen, having decided to bail when she had heard the gun go off. Envy hadn't seemed to take notice.

"Edward!"

Edward looked up, eyes landing on one of the people who could hopefully make everything better. "Miss Riza!" He got to his feet, running over to her. Riza picked him up, settling him on her hip and raising her gun again as the fire died down.

Roy stepped in beside Riza. "Lieutenant Hawkeye. I can take it from here." Roy looked over at her, and Riza lowered her gun. In any other situation, she would have turned the command down. But she knew that she had to get Edward out of here. Quickly, she left the house to let Roy finish up.

"Edward, are you hurt?" Riza placed Edward on the ground, crouching to check him for any injuries. Edward shook his head.

"No, but I..." He looked back at the house, eyes welling up with tears. "I don't understand!" He cried, shoulders shaking as sobs overtook him. "He said I killed them!" He added.

"Shh, that's not true, Edward." Riza wrapped her arms around his shoulders, allowing him to cry.

Alphonse was out of the car then, Winry on his heels. "Is he hurt?" He asked, crouching down to look at the blonde. Edward shied away from Al, pressing himself closer to Riza.

"I think he's in shock." Riza replied grimly. Alphonse seemed to notice this, as he distanced himself from Edward enough to give him some space.

"Do you know what happened in there?" Winry asked, trying to get a good look inside. Fire was still dancing around a figure she couldn't make out. After one final _boom _that practically shook the house, a loud shriek rang out. It died down after a few minutes, and Roy stepped out. He closed the door behind them, eyes narrowed.

"That thing was definitely imitating Alphonse." Roy said darkly. He then looked to the group. "Ms. Rockbell, I think it would be best if you went home. Things are about to get nasty." He said.

"What? No! I can't leave Ed and Al!" Winry looked up, glaring at Roy. Roy stared back at her, silently.

Alphonse sighed. "Winry...he's right. Things are going to get bad soon." He said. "I'm almost sure that you wouldn't be able to handle it. I'm sorry." He really was. But Winry didn't need to find out Edward's situation. "I'll call and keep you updated, though. I promise." Roy had briefly explained the plan to him, being that Winry would be sent home first thing, Al would stay at his house so they could work on finding a way to stop what was happening to Edward, and Edward would stay with Riza to get the attention and care that he needed.

"Well...okay Al." Winry wasn't comfortable leaving, but she could trust him. She wiped her eyes, turning to go back to the car.

"The next train to leave is in ten minutes. You can make it if you leave now, Colonel." Riza said.

Roy nodded. "Take care of him Lieutenant." He replied. He went back to the car with Alphonse, and Riza took Edward to her car. After putting him in the back seat, she got into the driver's side.

"For now you'll be staying with me, Ed. Is that alright?" Riza glanced at the child in the back seat. Edward just nodded quietly, turning to look out the window. Riza was actually glad she had seen Roy's car on her way to headquarters. She would have never gotten to them in time had she not seen it. She took one last glance at Edward, before heading back to her house.

Hopefully, Roy could fix this before it got out of control.

**oOoOo**

**Alright, that's all you guys are getting until I feel better. Commence in researching, boys! Ed's life is at stake! [cracks whip on Roy and Al] Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it! To the best you could in this situation. Lol? Also, I know an alchemy book wouldn't be talking about how to kill anyone...but in this case...lets say they do. Just for the sake of the story. It's a taboo book.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**GM: Wooow, this is long overdue. -3- Uh, so everything's been sort of all over the place this year. I know it's already been several months since I updated, (It sure as hell doesn't feel like that long ago...dammit.) but here is the next chapter. The events are a little fast paced near the end, but I'm trying to keep the ball rolling as far as the plot goes. I don't want to just...stuff pointless things into the chapter where nothing's going anywhere, y'know? Anyways, onto reviews.**

**Imnotobsessedwithanime:** Oh yes, he knows. But maybe he'll be more willing to accept the armor as his brother now? Here's an update. :D

**Songbird Alchemist:** Noo, I'd never kill him. D: I'm not...that...heartless. Here's the really late update. XD

**Yakumo Saitou:** Here's an update. :D

**Tempestuosus Caeli:** Yeah, my sister actually started writing this before Brotherhood premiered, so I'm trying to combine parts of both shows into this story. As for the effects, it may all come to a stop here...or not. Only I know. A lot of things come to a head in this chapter.

**AwesomatoligicalHaliBug:** Glad you're enjoying it. :D

**TailsMoon:** Ahehehe...here's that update. I'm seriously trying to keep everything in order as much as possible. XD

**Gothic-Romantic99: **Aw, Roy shares your sentiments, I promise. But that's okay, the next time Roy runs into them, it will not be a pretty sight.

**Eternal Love's Eclipse:** Oh my, yes it would. :O Can't tell you how many times I've stayed up well past my normal bedtime because I was enjoying a fanfic. XD I'm glad you like it!

**Karin Matthews:** Hello, here's your update. :D I do hope the chapter's up to standards.

**Little Karma:** Yeah, it's definitely probably one of the more plot-induced child!Ed fics, huh? XD

**mizzybizzy:** It's late, but the update is here. I am seriously not gonna let this story go on hiatus if I can help it; I do intend to finish it, even if this break was a little long.

**FullMetal:** I knooow right? D: What was I thinking?

**GM: Alright everyone, that's it for the reviews! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"...And I can't even begin to understand why that bastard even bothered," Roy was rambling as he placed Alchemy texts out on his coffee table, "did he _really _have nothing better to do than to scare a small child senseless?" He scowled then, hand hovering over another book. His brows narrowed then, and he got to his feet. He went into the Kitchen, coming back minutes later with an unidentifiable bottle. He took a sip from it, setting it down next to him.

"I don't know sir. Envy just gets a kick out of these things..." Al said quietly. "Brother says that he holds an insane amount of jealousy towards humans, and since we've been in the way of things from the get go, he just likes messing with us." He explained. He eyed the bottle as Roy came back with it, saying nothing.

"I don't care. Messing with a child is just sick." Honestly, it had been uncalled for. What merit would have come from it? Fear? Did the Homunculus really enjoy this kind of thing? Getting a thrill from scaring the shit out of a helpless child? They had already done enough to him as it was! Roy's mouth twitched.

"Sir, please calm down...we need to work on helping Ed, not get angry about what happened." Alphonse was angry too. But was it really worth it to sit and stew over it, wasting time when they should be researching?

"I'm afraid. Afraid that this will trigger his memories or something. I'm not even sure what they said to him, but I have a pretty good guess. Damn, the kid's gonna be scarred for life..." Roy picked the bottle up again, taking a long swig of it and setting it down. "Now let's get to work."

**oOoOo**

"Edward, are you alright?" Riza sat down next to the blonde who sitting on the end of the couch, staring out of the window. It was already nearing eight o' clock, but rain had started pouring just minutes before they got to the house. Edward didn't answer, golden eyes narrowed in thought.

"Miss Riza...I don't want to know what happened anymore..." Edward turned to her then. "I feel like something bad happened. Did I do anything wrong?" He asked, frowning. Riza thought of how to reply, before moving to take a seat next to him.

"Well," Riza began, "you did, and yet...it wasn't completely your fault. Childhood stupidity." She explained. "It happens to the best of us, Ed." She added. She then stood. "How about we head to bed? I can tell that you're tired. I'm a bit tired myself from sitting on a train all day." Edward nodded quietly, slipping off of the couch and going ahead of her towards the guest room. Roy had brought most of his things over an hour before, and Ed could tell just by the amount that he had dropped off that he'd be here a while.

"I can still visit Mister Roy though, right?" Edward asked as Riza got a blanket from the closet. She pulled a light blue one out, turning to drape it over him.

"If you feel up to it, yes." She replied. "If you get up for any reason besides going to the bathroom, please come to my room and let me know. Okay?" She asked. Edward nodded, turning onto his stomach and wrapping his arms around his pillow. Riza gazed at him worriedly, before straightening and leaving the room. "Sleep well, Edward." She said quietly, before heading to her own room.

Roy had been careful to tell her what to expect. Although she felt a bit scared of what was happening to the boy, she felt obligated to care for him. Right now, he needed that more than anything. After settling into bed, she found herself staring at the ceiling in thought. She sincerely hoped Roy knew what he was doing...

Thankfully, Edward slept through the night. Come six in the morning though, he was wide awake. He slipped out of his bed, padding down the hallway to Riza's room. He pushed her door open, peeking into the room. Seeing that she was still asleep, he turned and went to the living room. He then padded over to the phone, picking up Riza's address book. After finding Roy's number, he picked the phone up off of the receiver and dialed the number.

A few rings later, a very half-awake Roy picked up. _"Hello...?" _The sleepy, incoherent voice met Edward's ears.

"Mornin' Mister Roy!" Edward chirped, grinning widely even though Roy couldn't see it.

"_Hello Edward...I was kind of asleep. Do you think you could call back later?" _Roy asked.

"Um...yeah, I guess so..." Edward's mood sank. He placed the phone on the receiver without so much as a goodbye, turning when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Riza asked tiredly, biting back a yawn as she entered the living room. Edward went over to the couch, sitting down with his legs tucked under himself.

"I miss Mister Roy..." He said, sniffling. "Why can't I go back to his house?" He asked sadly.

Riza regarded him for a moment, before moving to sit next to him. "Edward, I know you don't understand, but Roy's very busy right now. All he wants is what's best for you. And sometimes, doing what's best isn't always what you want." She explained.

"That's what Miss Gracia said." He grumbled, angry pout tugging at his lips. On a trip to distract him, his stomach rumbled quite loudly.

"Well now," Riza quirked a brow, lowering her head to listen to Edward's stomach, "I think your tummy is trying to tell you something." She said.

Edward shook his head. "I don't wanna eat." He stated. "I always eat breakfast with Mister Roy." He crossed his arms defiantly.

"Either way, Ed, you're eating." Riza placed a hand on his head, before getting up and going into the Kitchen. Not wanting to be left alone, Edward jumped off of the couch and followed her. Black Hayate raised his head as the two entered, yipping quietly. Riza filled his food bowl, and he got up to go inspect the food.

"What are you making?" Edward went over to the counter, standing on tip toes to look onto it. Even then, he couldn't really see. He looked up at Riza, frowning perplexedly. "You need a stepladder to look over these counters. They're taller than Mister Roy's counters!" He grumbled.

Riza stopped pouring ingredients into a bowl to look down at him. "Oh, I'm sorry Edward. I don't usually have anyone who's so sh—a child in the house." She caught herself from uttering the dreaded word, before crouching and picking Edward up. She sat him on the counter, before handing him the bowl. "You can help. Stir the batter while I get the stove ready." She said. Edward blinked, looking into the bowl.

"What's these small brown thingies?" He asked, tilting his head as he began to stir the mixture.

"Chocolate chips," Riza replied, grabbing a pan from the cabinet above her, "I always put chocolate chips in my pancakes." She added.

"Chocolate chips in _pancakes_? Never heard of that!" Edward had never heard of such a thing. "Is it good?" He asked.

Riza nodded. "Oh yes. I'll have to make you some when you get your taste back." She replied. After saying this, she took notice of Edward's sudden silence. Even the spoon had stopped. "Edward?" She turned to look at him.

"I don't have my taste anymore..." The blonde frowned. "Is that normal?" He asked.

Riza frowned, trying to think of a way to answer. "No," she said finally, "but that's why Roy is doing all that research. He's working on a way to get you back to normal." She explained. Edward seemed to accept this answer, starting to stir the batter again.

"In that case, I'm sure Mister Roy will come through." He replied certainly.

**oOoOo**

"So you're not going back to sleep then?" Alphonse sat in the living room, reading an alchemy book.

Roy yawned, coming into the living room nursing a cup of coffee. "No," He replied, caging back a yawn, "he should have been asleep at such an early hour." He mumbled sourly. He placed the mug down, picking up the book he had left off of. "Back to work, for us." He muttered. Alphonse nodded, and they both started reading up on the information they had gathered.

A few minutes passed, the only sound being the pages turning in books. "It seems like there really isn't any information other than what we already know." Alphonse spoke up with a sigh that came deep within the armor. "Maybe there isn't a way to stop it." He added.

Roy stopped, looking at him doubtfully. "No, it said in that book that—," He was interrupted as the phone rang. He grumbled under his breath, getting to his feet and going to the phone. He picked it up, putting it to his ear. "Hello?" He was instantly greeted by Havoc, who was talking a mile a minute.

"_I may have a lead on your research, Roy! You said Charles Truman, right?" _Havoc asked from the other end.

"Yeah. What about him?" Roy replied irritatedly, dragging a hand through his hair.

"_There was this guy who used to work with him before he was executed for illegal research. James Brody. He's currently residing in Dublith." _Havoc replied.

"What, really? Do you think he'd know how to fix this?" Roy asked. Alphonse looked up at the sudden excitement in Roy's tone.

"_Yeah, it's safe to say that he might. You should head down there. The address is—," _Havoc was cut off, Roy hurriedly saying he needed to write it down.

Roy scrambled to find a piece of paper, getting a pen from one of the drawers in the cabinet once he obtained said paper. "Okay, what is it?" He asked, pen poised above the paper.

"_257 Genevor's Avenue." _Roy scribbled the address down as Havoc spoke.

"Alright. Now get me the next scheduled train depart." Roy replied. After Havoc retrieved the schedule and relayed it to Roy, the man uttered a rushed thanks and hung up. He moved to the living room, grabbing his coat. "Come on, we're leaving." He said to Alphonse, before hurrying out the door.

Alphonse looked up, a bit startled by Roy's urgency. "Wait, where are we going?" He asked as he piled into the back seat of Roy's vehicle.

Roy started towards the station. "Dublith. There's a man there who has knowledge on the circle." Roy explained.

Alphonse brightened. "Really? We should bring brother! Maybe the guy can take a look at him." He replied. Roy thought about this for about a split second, before making a sharp U-turn to go back the way they came.

"Good idea, Elric." Roy replied. Yes, it would be more beneficial to bring the one affected in case the man could do something. The ride to Riza's house was spent in mostly silence, the only sound being the engine humming.

When they pulled up to the house, Roy parked in front of the building. "Alphonse, wait here. I'll get him." Roy got out, heading for the stairs. He knew Alphonse would be okay with waiting. As he reached the second floor, he slowed to stop at Riza's apartment. He knocked, sitting back to wait.

"Don't move, Ed." Riza was heard saying behind the door. She opened it to see Roy, and became just a bit confused. "Anything you need, Roy?" She asked. She was very much on edge, knowing that a homunculus that could change it's looks was out there somewhere.

"I got a tip from Lieutenant Havoc," Roy explained, "there is a man that worked with the guy who created the circle. I want to take Ed to get him looked at." He explained. He actually wasn't surprised when Riza conjured a gun from seemingly nowhere and aimed it at him. He sighed, putting his hands up.

"Sorry Roy, precautions." Riza explained. This was nothing new to Roy, though. "How did you learn the technique to became the Flame Alchemist?" She asked, quizzing him.

"The tattoo on your back given to you by your father. I burned parts of it so the research cannot be learned by anyone else. ...Not like I'd let them." He said dully, rolling his eyes.

"...Very good, sir." Riza replied, putting her gun away, "Ed! Roy came to pick you up." She called. Edward left the radio broadcast he was listening to, coming into the entry way and attaching himself to Roy's legs.

Roy crouched to pick him up, speaking to him. "Ready to go?" He asked.

Edward wrapped his arms around Roy's neck, resting his head on his shoulder. "Mh-hm..." He mumbled quietly.

The tired sounding tone the blond used confused Roy. He had slept, right? He sighed, nodding to Riza in farewell and heading back to the car with Ed. Maybe, just _maybe _they'd figure something out.

**oOoOo**

"Edward, sit down." Roy rubbed his temples in irritation as the train started off.

Edward stood in his seat next to Al, looking out of the window. "This is neat! I've never been on a train before!" He exclaimed, pressing his face against the glass.

Roy rolled his eyes. Of course Ed hadn't been on a train. He was a country bumpkin and lived in a place where trains weren't used often.

"Brother, please do as the Colonel says..." Alphonse spoke up, grabbing Edward's waist and pulling him to sit down. Edward sat, pouting angrily and crossing his arms.

"If this train jolts with you standing up, you'll go flying," Roy explained, pulling his pocket watch out to check the time, "and I really don't want to have to clean the mess you make when you splatter yourself on the floor." He added dully, onyx eyes turning to look down at the blond child.

Edward felt a bit intimidated, but didn't show it. "I'm bored." He stated simply, as if that would save Roy the trouble of keeping up with him for the next few hours.

"Edward..." Roy groaned in irritation. "I'm not exactly in the best mood right—,"

"You never are." Edward interjected him with a grim tone, sliding out of his seat. "I'm gunna go sit up there. Both of you are boring me." He said, before sliding passed the two of them.

Roy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why is he becoming more irritating? He didn't use to be so annoying..." He muttered sourly, looking at Alphonse in hopes that he had the answer. "It's like dealing with Fullmetal in smaller form." He added. Like a teenager in a child's body.

"Well, maybe something's wrong with him. He does seem a bit down." Alphonse replied. It may have been all that had happened recently, or maybe it was just Ed. Either way, it would be best to take care of it, in his opinion.

"Eh...just one headache after another..." Roy grumbled sourly, resting his face on the glass window next to him. The cool glass conflicted with the warmth of his cheek. Hopefully, the ride wouldn't take all that long.

Unfortunately for Roy, it was a grueling four and a half hours later before the train pulled into Dublith station. As the train came to a stop with a loud groan, Alphonse got to his feet to search for Edward as Roy headed for the front. Alphonse found Edward quite a few seats up, fast asleep. He picked him up carefully, heading up to the front of the train to meet up with Roy.

"So, do you know where the address is?" Alphonse asked later as they rode in a cab. Roy was silent, drumming his fingers on his thigh. "Colonel?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah." Roy replied to the suit of armor distractedly, looking down at Edward. The child was asleep and quiet for the most part; the occasional whimper escaped him, though. "Ah, here we are, Alphonse." Roy double checked the address, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few bills to hand them to the cab driver. A few minutes later, Roy and Alphonse were at the door, waiting for a reply to Roy's knock.

The door opened several seconds later. Green eyes peered at them from the space left by the door, then a sigh was issued as the door was opened further. "Military, huh? What kind of business are you here for?" The man, James Brody, asked.

"We're here on behalf of your former partner's research. Charles Truman." Roy cleared his throat. "Is it alright if we come in?" The question was more of an order. The man frowned, stepping back and opening the door further to allow them entry.

"You still haven't answered my question," James spoke, closing the door behind them, "as to why you visit me. Anything I have done to attract military attention went dormant years ago." James moved to sit on the sofa seated inside the living room. Brody was a tall man with piercing green eyes that had clearly seen more than the average person. He had thin brown hair tied back into a small ponytail, though it was streaked in gray that made him seem much older than he was.

"We're here more on out-of-military business." Roy spoke, moving to sit in a chair opposite of the man. Alphonse stood by the door with Edward, listening to the men converse.

"Oh? About what?" James's curiosity was piqued.

"A group of people used one of Truman's transmutation circles on..my...my son," Roy stumbled over the word, forcing the first one that came to mind out of his mouth. He couldn't call Ed his subordinate.

"Which one, if I may ask?" James asked, lifting a brow.

"It was called...Truman's Cross, I believe. But look. I'll keep this a secret from the military. I just need your help." Roy would take a criminal's help right now if it meant saving Edward.

The man seemed to think about the transmutation circle mentioned. "Ah yes...that's the one that got Charles into trouble..." He mumbled. "How far along is the process?" He asked after a moment.

"His taste is gone, and...I'm not sure about everything else." Roy replied, trying to remain stoic as his mind re-read the text in the book he had read from earlier. It was deadly. There was no way to stop it. "I was hoping that maybe you could help. I know it said that once the taste is gone it's almost impossible to stop, but surely there's _something_..."

James regarded Roy for a moment. After that moment, his gaze went to Edward. "Is that your son?" He asked. Alphonse came closer, crouching to let James get a better look at him.

"Yes, that's him," Roy replied, "there's got to be something you can do...please." Roy knew that this was their only resort. This man was the only one who could help.

"Well...I haven't done any alchemy in quite a few years, but I'll see what I can do." James replied, before getting to his feet. "We did complete a beta project for a reversal circle, but the effects—,"

"As long as it doesn't kill him. Do it." Roy replied back quickly.

James looked at him grimly, before nodding once. "It'll be very painful for him." He warned. He then went to the back of the house, ushering the two to follow him. "Usually, I wouldn't help military personnel. But the fact that a child is involved would weigh on my conscience if I didn't help." He said.

James led them to a room down the hallway, and as Roy and Al stepped in, they realized it to be a study room. James moved over to the bookshelf, pulling a thick black book from it. He blew the layer of dust off, wiping the remnants away with his hand. "Alright..." he mumbled, opening the book up and flipping through the pages.

He reached a page that wasn't covered by text; instead, there was a transmutation circle sketched on the page. He then grabbed a piece of chalk from the top shelf, moving to the center of the room to begin constructing the circle. Every so often he would glance to the paper to make sure it was correct, and several minutes later he stood.

"It's ready," James spoke, "I want you to place him in the middle." he added.

Alphonse moved to the circle, gently placing Edward in the center of it. When he stepped back, James steeled himself. He could only hope that this would work. The child may have been too far into the effects for him to help him.

James crouched and placed his hands on the edge of the circle. He closed his eyes, concentrating on directing his energy to Edward. The circle began to glow yellow in color, then it started to turn blue as the transmutation carried on. As soon as the light brightened though, Edward's eyes shot open and he screamed. James didn't cease however, pressing forwards even as Edward started crying. After several minutes, he pulled his hands away. The light died down, but Edward was still shivering and crying.

"Ed!" Alphonse moved over to his brother, scooping him up off of the floor.

Edward hiccuped, clutching onto Al's arm. "Al, I—," Whatever Edward was about to say stopped entirely as another scream came from him, and his eyes rolled up into his head.

"Ed! Oh no, is this supposed to happen?" Alphonse asked, tone verging on hysteria.

James staggered to his feet, panting. "I told you. I don't know the full effects," he gasped, "but you'll have to bring him back here in a week so I can check him over; the senses should be back completely by the time you bring him back, assuming it worked."

Roy wasn't sure what to do. He wanted for the stupid circle to work. But it was nearly impossible to tell. Instead of really wanting to dwell on it, Roy decided it was best that they take their leave. After talking with James about the transmutation that was performed on Ed, the trio left the house. Roy was feeling a bit nauseated by the time they left, and told Al that they would be spending the night at a hotel. He did need sleep, after all.

When they found a hotel, Roy booked them a room and practically stumbled his way over to one of the beds. He fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Alphonse merely sighed, before putting Edward on the other bed.

He sat for a while, merely waiting for either Ed or Roy to wake up. But nearly two hours came and went, and neither of them stirred. Eventually, Al grew bored of waiting. So he scribbled a note down for Roy and placed it on the bedside table, then left the small hotel room.

**oOoOo**

Edward wasn't even sure where he was when he woke up. He just knew that his head was pounding, and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He slipped off of it, then stopped. Wait a minute...

Everything that had happened hit him like a train. As his mind tried to process what he was remembering, he wished for it all to be a dream. He had been dreaming, that had to be it! He walked quickly to the bathroom, eyes widening when he met the image staring back at him from the full-length mirror. "Shit," he whispered, taking a step back and nearly falling, "Shit!" He cursed, running out of the bathroom. He stopped in the room with the beds, eyes landing on Roy who was sleeping peacefully.

"Mustang...Colonel!" Edward growled in irritation, moving over to the bed and climbing onto it. He curled his small hand, cocking his arm back and punching Roy across the face. "Bastard! Wake up!"

Roy not surprisingly woke up, startled from whatever dream he had been having as pain erupted in his jaw. He shot up and looked around bewildered, before his gaze landed on Edward. The child's hand was still clenched into a fist, but his eyes appeared positively livid. "You better explain to me what's going on. Explain it to me, dammit!" Edward couldn't control his temper, and he lashed out at Roy again.

This time, Roy caught Edward's wrist, grabbing the other arm and peering down at him with a scowl. "What the hell is wrong with you, Ed?" He asked.

Edward trembled under Roy's hold, more out of anger than fear. "Let go of me," he snarled quietly. "Let the fuck go, Mustang!"

The expletives flying from the child's mouth made Roy realize that he wasn't dealing with a child. He was dealing with Edward, teenage state alchemist in a child's body. "Calm down, Edward." Roy spoke, voice authoritative. "I'll explain everything as long as you calm down." He knew Edward was more panicked than angry; the teenager always showed anger above fear no matter the situation.

Edward reluctantly calmed as Roy explained, feeling very small by the time the man finished. "Oh _God_..." Edward groaned quietly. "How did this...I was...!" He couldn't really remember how he had ended up like this. But the memories he had were clearly his, even if he wasn't in his right mind when they all happened.

"It feels like another person was there..." He mumbled, fidgeting in place, "like...I don't know. I wasn't...there..."

"Well now that you're back, you can help us figure out how to get you back to normal, right?" Roy asked.

"No." Edward replied, sighing angrily. "I don't know much more about that transmutation than you do." he added. Then after a moment his face scrunched. "...I need to pee." He said, before slipping off of the bed. He ran for the bathroom, and Roy took the opportunity to look at the clock on the bedside table, the red lights flashing that it was nearly eight in the morning. Had they really been out that long? He grabbed the note in front of it, reading it.

_Colonel—_

_I went out to the library. Probably won't be back for a while._

—_Alphonse_

Roy frowned at the note, balling it up and tossing it into the waste basket as Edward came back into the room. He was rubbing his hands on his shirt.

"Paper towels, Ed. They're there for a reason." Roy said dryly.

"Shut it," Edward replied before holding his right hand up, "...what the..." The automail was gone. His limbs were there. "How the hell did I outdo equivalent exchange?" He asked. He didn't wait for Roy to answer, merely going to the door and opening it.

"Hey, where are you going?" Roy asked.

"I'm starving, so I'm going to go look for food. Dumbass." Edward was being extremely moody, Roy noticed.

"You'll need money. I'll go with you." Roy said. Although Edward was mentally a teenager, he was still physically a child. People wouldn't automatically know his situation, and Edward was bound to get pissed if anyone started treating him like a little kid. "You'll have to behave yourself, Fullmetal. I don't want to pay any extra bills because somebody treated you like a little kid. Act your physical age while we're out."

Edward's mouth tightened, but he didn't say anything as Roy headed out the door ahead of them. When they reached the car, Edward climbed into the front passenger seat.

"Edward. Back seat. Children can't sit in the front." Roy replied. Edward just frowned, before sighing in annoyance and climbing to the back. Roy got into the front seat, closing the door behind him and pulling the car out onto the road.

The ride to the nearest restaurant was spent in silence. When Roy pulled the car into the parking lot, he parked it near the door. "Go ahead and find a table; I need to call Alphonse and tell him where we are." Edward didn't reply, instead just getting out of the car and going inside. Roy used the phone booth next to the restaurant, looking up the number in the phone book to call the library. He explained the situation to Al as well as their location. The conversation was short, ending with Alphonse saying that he would come to the restaurant to meet up with them.

Roy went inside then, finding Edward almost immediately and taking a seat at the table. "Has the waitress come by, Edward?" Roy asked.

Edward glared at him for using that tone; as if he were talking to a child. "No." He replied sourly. Roy just nodded. Only a minute went by by the time a waitress came to serve them.

"Hello there, I'm Kara and I'll be your waitress today," the woman set a menu in front of Roy, and a kids menu with crayons in front of Ed, "can I start you off with some drinks?" She asked.

"You surely don't have the kind of drink I'm wanting, so I'll just take coffee, thanks." Roy replied.

"Alright, and how about you, hon?" The waitress turned to Edward, gazing at him expectantly.

"Orange juice." Edward replied simply.

The waitress nodded. "Alright! I'll be back with your orders momentarily." She smiled cheerily, before taking her leave.

Edward and Roy sat in silence for a few minutes, Edward staring down at the crayons. He scowled, picking one up and starting to draw on the menu. Roy lifted an eyebrow, but decided against commenting on it. He _did _want Edward to act his "age" here, anyway. He'd have all the time in the world to tease him about it when they left.

Alphonse appeared before their table minutes later, taking a seat across from Ed. Edward clapped his hands together, bringing them down on the menu. The paper menu shifted and folded under blue alchemic light, and it was changed into an origami shape. Roy jumped, slightly panicked.

"Ed! No alchemy here!" He hissed warningly. Edward squinted at him, sticking his tongue out at Roy. Alphonse shook his head.

"Are you sure he's back to normal? He's still acting...well, you know." Alphonse spoke discreetly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

"He's putting on a good show, that's for sure." Roy said dryly. The waitress returned with their drinks minutes later, setting them down on the table.

"Can I get you anything to drink, sir?" The waitress looked at Alphonse.

"Oh, no ma'am, nothing for me." Alphonse replied politely.

"Alright then. So, have you two decided on what you want to order?" She asked.

"Yes, I'll have the morning special, please. Sausage instead of bacon if that's alright." Roy spoke.

"Yes, that's fine sir. And how about you, young man?" She asked, crouching and smiling at Edward in a friendly manner.

"Can I have the Belgian waffle with the eggs and bacon?" Edward tilted his head to the side. The waitress nodded.

"You sure can, cutie. I'll be right back with your orders." She straightened, before going off to get their orders made.

"So," Edward spoke once the waitress was out of earshot, "have either of you come up with anything thus far?" He asked, steepling his fingers and propping his elbows on the table.

"No. We've been a little busy trying to get your current problem fixed. You've heard of Truman's Cross, haven't you?" Roy asked.

Edward thought for a moment. "I...it sounds familiar, yeah. I think I read notes on it in an old Alchemy book that Shou Tucker owned. It was used to enhance the senses, right?" He asked.

"Yes. But it can also take them away, if altered right." Roy said, seriously. "You do remember the homunculus performing a transmutation on you, don't you?" He asked.

"Yes," Edward replied, nonplussed, "that was the one they performed on me, wasn't it?" The calm tone Edward carried scared Roy just a bit. How could he be so calm about it?

"Indeed..." Roy replied, clearing his throat awkwardly. "We came here, and the circle's co-creator performed a reversal transmutation on you, but we have to wait a bit to see if it worked." He added.

"In other words, my breakfast will probably taste like shit. Oh well." Edward took a sip of the orange juice, and Roy cringed as he received nasty stares that only seemed to pop up when Edward muttered the expletive.

"Edward, _please_," Roy grumbled, frowning, "not in here."

Edward just grinned at him. "Yes _uncle Roy_." He replied, the grin turning devilish. Roy rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I picked up a train schedule on my way here," Alphonse spoke up, conjuring a piece of paper and handing it to Roy, "we should be able to make the one that leaves in an hour if we leave here early enough." He explained.

"Good work." Roy replied, before pocketing the schedule. The waitress arrived with their orders, and Roy dug into his while Edward ate at more of a slow pace. Indeed, the food could have been compared to eating paper. No taste at all. Edward ate more than half of it, however, shoving the issue aside. It still filled him up even though he couldn't taste it, and that was all that mattered.

Soon, the trio found themselves boarding the train about half an hour later. They took a seat near the back, Roy and Alphonse starting to discuss what their next plans would be. Edward grew tired through the later half of the train ride and fell asleep, leaning against Al's metal arm.

The conversation went on without Edward, though they both stopped talking after several minutes as a much too familiar sound met Roy's ears. Alphonse looked down, watching Edward suck his thumb with an almost curious disposition. "Wow. Never seen him do that before." He stated.

"He's done it one other time. I don't understand it." Roy replied. "But I thought it was something only the child part of him did." He added.

"Well, he _is _asleep. Maybe he can't control it." Alphonse replied.

"Maybe..." Roy replied thoughtfully. "Anyway, as I said before, we're probably going to have to get a few more alchemists involved. Edward's been like this for a while, and it's past overdue for something to be done about it." He added.

"Oh, I agree," Alphonse replied, "We could probably even expand our search farther than Central, if that's a possibility."

"It sounds like a good idea. I'd be willing to have a few of my men take a look. While off duty, of course." It wasn't unusual for the people of Amestris to go touring in Creta or Aerugo. Roy just wasn't sure if they minded soldiers coming over the borders; they might see it as a threat.

"W..wait'a minute...hey, Al..." Edward was now mumbling in his sleep, turning over onto his side. "Don' go there...Al, I'll tell..mmm...moooom, Al's gettin' into th' cookies 'gain..."

Alphonse giggled. "Now that part's normal. Brother does talk in his sleep sometimes." The suit of armor lowered his hand, patting Edward's head. Edward breathed in heavily, before opening his eyes. He groaned, before crawling into Al's lap and falling asleep again.

Roy shook his head and snorted. "Your brother's got some odd habits, Alphonse."

* * *

**GM: So, it has come to this. Is this the end of child!Ed? Is teenage Ed back for good? Will his senses return now that the transmutation has been performed to hopefully right the effects? Find out in the next chapter of Little Problems! *dramatic exit***


	11. Chapter 11

**GM: Omg guys, this chapter lagged foreveeer ;_; It never ended. (Well, okay, it did, but it lasted waaaay longer than I thought it would. Derp. I'm thinking of keeping the fluffy-ness that is Ed going on for another chapter or two before shit hits the fan again. :D (It won't really, things will just get complicated) Honestly, I don't even know if I wanna change him back, but, there's gotta be an ending, right? Right. It'll happen. Eventually. I promise.**

**Review Replies**

**Fullmetal:** I'm glad you did! This story is actually getting pretty complicated on my part, but I'm plowing forwards all the same. XD

**Gothic-Romantic99:** Thank you so much for the feedback! I also love child!Ed. :D (hugs the child!Ed) And I can't say it's fixed _yet. _I'm not spoiling anything, but it's not completely over yet with that transmutation circle. It may be next chapter or the one after that. Who knows!

**Rocking Phillip:** Glad it could make you smile. :D Here's the next chapter.

**Karin Matthews:** I'm glad it did. :) Here is the next chapter!

**GM: Also, small notes. **

**(1) I did a comic for a certain part of this chapter. Not saying my art is good or anything, but I did like the outcome. (All except for the hands.) You guys are welcome to check it out of you like. I'll put a link in the profile. It was a good Roy study!**

**(2) I took notice that Edward has had a birthday somewhere in earlier chapters; but since I want Edward to remain five throughout the majority**—**and rest**—**of the story, I have changed his earlier age to four. Not that big of a deal. Just thought I'd mention it.  
**

Song(s) of inspiration: Closer to the Edge - 30 seconds to Mars, Empty - Click Five, Painting Flowers - All Time Low, and Pictures of You - The Last Goodnight. All of these songs were put to exceptional Fullmetal Alchemist AMVs. I will include those in the profile as well if you'd like to check them out!**  
**

* * *

The remainder of the train ride was spent with Roy talking to Al about what the next steps in their research would be. Ultimately, they hadn't come to a decision as to what to do with Edward. He wasn't big enough to really do many things by himself. Physically, anyway. He would still need help with things. By the time the train rolled into Central station, they had decided to take him back to Riza's house.

"Brother, wake up." Alphonse shook Edward's shoulder, and the blond child yawned.

"Leave me alone, Al..." Edward grumbled. He sat up moments later though, mumbling under his breath as he slid off of Al's lap and into the isle.

"Ed, me and Colonel have decided to let you keep staying with miss Riza for now. You're not as tall as you were, and..." Alphonse trailed off at the look Edward was giving him. Edward then shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, moving up the isle ahead of both Roy and Alphonse.

"Well, that went great." Roy said sarcastically.

"Yeah..." Alphonse sighed, his helmet tilting to look down.

"We better go. I don't want him running off." Roy said, getting to his feet. He then headed after Edward, and Alphonse was soon to follow.

Not surprisingly, Edward wasn't easy to spot. Roy and Al split up to look for him, Al looking on the left side while Roy searched the right. People were bustling around, getting to and from their destination; it was actually quite crowded.

"Edward!" Roy called out to the boy, but didn't hear a response. And if he did respond, Roy hadn't heard it.

As Roy moved further down the platform, however, he could see a small crowd forming. What the hell? He sighed in irritation, setting the problem of Edward aside and moving to take a look. He moved through the crowd, shoving past people to see what the problem was.

As Roy made it to the front though, he realized that the attention grabber _was _Edward. He was crouched, hunched over with both hands grabbing at his ears with his eyes screwed shut. A man stood next to him, panicking and trying to console him.

"What happened here?" Roy asked, stepping forwards.

"I knocked into him," the man spoke, "it was an accident...he fell; I'm not sure if he's alright because he won't answer me." He replied concernedly.

"Edward," Roy spoke, crouching next to him. "Edward, what's going on?" Edward didn't answer him, beginning to rock on his feet. His mouth appeared to be moving, but whatever he was saying was so quiet Roy couldn't hear it over the noise of the station. "Edward Elric, look at me." He demanded. He couldn't use his title, but he was doing the closest thing.

Edward's eyes snapped open then. He stopped the rocking motion and his jaw slackened, and he slowly turned his head to look at Roy. Roy stared back into the golden orbs, just a bit disturbed at the petrified expression painting the blond's face. "Edward...?" He asked, concern growing. Edward didn't move, just staring at him with that expression on his face. Roy ultimately decided to move him, reaching forwards to pick him up.

Edward screamed when Roy's hands touched him, jerking like it had hurt. Roy ignored it, pulling Edward into his arms and standing up with him. Edward went completely still, scream dying down as every muscle in his body seemed to lock up.

_"We're working on the alchemical path to immortality. So far...quite successful. The only setback being that our subjects keep losing their memory. Only one of them has ever regained them, but he died shortly after due to shock." _

"Edward," Roy pulled Edward away a little bit to look at him, "look at me. Edward, please." Roy tried coaxing him, but Edward was ultimately unresponsive. "Shit." Roy cursed, before hurriedly moving through the crowds to find Alphonse.

"Colonel!" Alphonse caught up with him, "you found him! Thank goodness!" Roy shook his head. "Alphonse, I have to tell you something. Let's get to Hawkeye's." Roy then headed out of the station, Alphonse practically on his heels.

**oOoOo**

"You mean...he might die? After all this?" Alphonse was shaking, not wanting to accept what Roy was telling him. They were sitting in Riza's living room, while Riza herself was trying to get a response from Ed.

"I'm not saying that, but the possibility of him getting out of it...it's slim, Alphonse." Roy replied grimly. They both ceased conversation, looking over to Riza and Edward. Riza was holding him much like a baby, running her fingers through his hair and talking to him quietly. Edward had a death grip on her blouse, eyes still open wide in shock. He was trembling, small whimpers escaping him despite Riza talking to him.

"It doesn't help that the memories he got back weren't good ones. Those memories on a mentally five year old...I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make it, Alphonse." Roy spoke quietly.

Alphonse didn't want to believe it. But even his optimism was wearing thin at this point. "Isn't there a way to suppress his memories? At all?" He asked. "I don't want him to die, Colonel!" Roy knew that Al was upset.

"Alphonse, we can't just suppress his memories; if we did that, he wouldn't have a clue as to who any of us were. He wouldn't remember anything." Roy replied.

"That would be better than him dying, though! Please, I don't want to lose him..." Alphonse said.

"You're not thinking rationally, kid. We have to think about this." Roy sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "If we did that, we may not...we might not be able to get him back to normal fully. Let's examine the process instead of just doing it on a whim." Even though he didn't know the consequences to the procedure, the option was sounding pretty damn good to Roy despite the obvious dangers.

But then came the possibility of it interfering with what they did to get him back to normal. Would his memories be able to come back if they did this? What if they didn't? There was also the possibility of all this alchemy hurting the boy. He had just gone through a transmutation the other night; would it be safe to do something else the next day?

"Roy, if I may offer my thoughts...I'm agreeing with Alphonse on this one. Suppressing his memories seems like the best option. I may not know much about alchemy, but I'm sure worse could happen if we don't at least try." Riza's words built his confidence, if only by a little.

After a while, Roy spoke. "You're right, Riza," he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, "if worse comes to worse, we'll...cross that bridge when we get to it." As much as he didn't want to rush in and just do something, a decision would have to be made quickly; Edward's life depended on it. "Alphonse, get me a pen." He said, before getting off of the couch and moving over to Riza. He took Edward's hand, uncurling his fingers from her blouse and pulling him into his lap.

Edward cried out in panic, struggling to get away from Roy. "Riza, give me a hand." Roy grabbed Edward's head as Riza took his hands. She rubbed her thumbs over the top of them, trying to calm him down. Edward cried out miserably, tightening his grip on her fingers. Riza ignored it as Alphonse came back shortly after that with a pen, holding it out to Roy wordlessly.

Roy took the pen, biting down on his lower lip as he sketched a circle out on Edward's forehead. He made sure not to hurt him, only handing the pen back to Alphonse when he was done.

"Edward, don't worry. It'll be okay." He was saying it more to calm himself down than Edward, honestly. He pressed his fingers to the circle, and immediately it emanated a bright, white light. Edward ceased whatever struggling he was in the process of, his body relaxing just a little bit. He then whimpered, trying to pull his hands away from Riza.

"Hold him." Roy told her, seeing the action. Riza held onto him, still trying to comfort him. A few minutes later the light died down. Edward's eyes slipped closed almost automatically and he went limp in Roy's arms, grip loosening from Riza's fingers. Roy sighed. Although it had been a small transmutation, it still drained him of his energy.

"I created a wall to keep his memories contained; now what are we going to tell him?" Roy asked after a minute. "He needs some form of structure to live by." He said grimly.

"Colonel," Alphonse spoke, "you'll have to tell him that you're his dad." he said.

Roy looked at him confusedly. "Why is that?" He asked.

"You told Mr. Brody that he was your son, so telling him otherwise might land you in an awkward situation." Alphonse explained.

"Shit. That's right." Roy cursed. Riza was understandably lost. "And what about his mother? I haven't dated anyone solidly enough, and he's going to want to know..." He probably should have figured this all out before doing the transmutation.

"I guess...I'll play the part. It's only temporary, and it's not like I don't get along with him. Plus, I _am_ dating you." Riza spoke up.

"Are you sure you're okay with him calling you mom?" Roy asked, lifting a brow.

"Wouldn't be the first time. He's had slip-ups." Riza replied, shrugging with a bit of a smirk. Roy just smiled dryly.

"In that case," Alphonse spoke up, "you two should live together. Otherwise it'll just seem strange to him that you guys live apart." He said.

Both Riza and Roy faltered at this, staring back at each other. While Roy started blushing, Riza's mouth tightened into a wide, straight line. After several minutes, Roy cleared his throat. "I'm gunna...go go Edward's stuff..." He mumbled, before getting to his feet. He passed Edward to Riza, turning and heading to the door. "Alphonse...I'll have to pause in my search for this, I hope you know. You and my team will have to continue looking for me. Please tell me if you find anything." Roy then let himself out.

The house was left in silence, the only occupants being Edward, Riza, and Alphonse. Riza stood up with Edward, shoving a few locks of hair behind her ear. "I'm going to go put him to bed." She said quietly. She disappeared down the hall with Edward, and Alphonse was left to his own thoughts.

He couldn't be Ed's brother for the time being. Even that connection would cause trouble. Luckily, Alphonse was fine with this. He didn't have to be a stranger; he could be his friend. Even so, he'd have to devote most of his time trying to look for something to help Edward. Even though the search had pushed onwards for a long time, it seemed that everything they found had a dead end. And a rather vague one at that. There was hardly any research regarding it, and Roy had burnt down the facility that held all of the research and notes.

Alphonse was eventually brought out of his thoughts as Riza emerged from the hallway. "Are you alright, Alphonse?" She asked.

Alphonse nodded his head. "Yes ma'am. I think I'm going to go now, though. I want to get started on research as soon as possible." He replied.

Riza just nodded in understanding. "Alright, Alphonse. Please take care of yourself." She said. Alphonse nodded to her, before turning and heading out of the house.

Riza was left alone after that. Not really having much else to do, she went into the Kitchen and started washing the few dishes that were in the sink.

**oOoOo**

Edward wasn't at all sure what to do when he woke up. This place didn't look familiar. But then again, nothing did. Where was he? What was he? _Who was he? _All these questions flooded his mind faster than he could comprehend them. He looked down at the blue blanket covering him, before slowly pushing it back and scooting to the edge of the bed. He slid off of it, landing on his feet and padding to the doorway. He looked up and down the hall, before slowly stepping out.

This was all very strange. Something told him that there should have been a story to him; a life. Why would he just be here with not so much as a reason? He moved down the hallway, stopping at the end of it. A woman and a man were on the couch talking. "Um...hello...?" He asked.

Riza was the first to notice him. 'Edward? Are you awake?" Of course he was awake, she told herself. She stood up, walking over to him and crouching down in front of him. "How do you feel?" She asked him.

"I feel fine...but who are you? Is that my name? Edward?" Edward frowned at her.

"Edward, I...I'm your mom. And that is your name. That man over there," she paused, pointing over to Roy, "is your dad. Does any of this look familiar?" She asked. Of course she knew the answer would be no, but she had to do well in making sure to introduce everything to him slowly.

"No." Edward replied simply. "What's a mom and dad?" He asked.

"Well, a mom and a dad are people who take care of you." Riza kept the answer simple, and Edward seemed to accept it.

"Alright, so...how old am I?" He asked, again.

"Five." Riza answered automatically.

The questions came at lightening speed, and Riza was patient enough to answer each one to the best of her ability. When Edward finally ran out of questions, the 'family' sat down to eat dinner. Riza had cooked ahead of time, making some form of baked chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans. Edward seemed to like the green beans okay, but didn't touch the potatoes.

"Roy, you need to give Edward a bath before he goes back to bed." Riza spoke when Edward had finished and gone to the room he was staying in. "I don't want to embarrass him." She added, picking up the dishes.

Roy sighed, head tipped back. "Fine..." He said slowly. He wasn't all for this 'domesticated' life, and he knew very well that Riza wasn't either. But this was their best option as far as keeping Edward at arms length. This was the only part of his life that he was supposed to know about for now, and Roy would try his damnedest to keep it that way.

"Oh yeah," Roy said suddenly, "we need a plan. Both of us need to go back to work. So we need somewhere for him to go during the day." he mused. "Elicia started preschool a week ago, right? I think Edward fits in the age range." he added.

"Maybe. I'll look into it. But if we do anything, we're going to need records, Roy. Where would we get birth certifications and things like that?" Riza asked.

"Ah..." Roy sat forwards, thoughtful look settling onto his face. "You have that friend of yours...Sheska, right? Doesn't she work near the Investigations department?" He asked.

"Yes." Riza replied.

"Have her forge the documents." Roy said automatically, before getting to his feet. "Then we'll look into this whole preschool deal day after tomorrow." He mumbled. He left the conversation at that, disappearing into the living room and down the hallway.

**oOoOo**

"Edward, please. Stop splashing." Roy grunted as he wrestled with the child, trying to wash his hair.

"I don't like shampoo!" Edward yelled at him, trying to shove the hand holding the offending goo away. Roy was not too pleased with this. He grabbed Edward's hair—not hard—before pulling him closer and rubbing the suds into it. Edward pouted, crossing his arms. Roy had to wonder, idly, if the child had been washing his hair at all over the last few months. He never noticed the blond's strong dislike of the hair product.

What became even more so known, was that Edward hated water being poured over his head. When Roy poured the cup over his head to rinse it, Edward had a fit. He flailed and cried, grabbing onto Roy's pants and would not stop screaming until Riza came in to help. She managed to get Edward to lay in the tub so she could rinse it that way.

"I don't want dad to help me, I want you to help me." Edward was now showing a clear dislike towards Roy. Roy grunted in annoyance.

"You know what? I—," he stopped whatever he was saying as Riza flashed him a dangerous look. "...Fine." He got up, leaving the bathroom to let Riza help Edward. He never asked to bathe him anyway! Of course Roy was miffed; Edward had never shown more of a liking to Riza than him before.

But maybe it was the fact that Edward had wanted his mother back for a long time. It wasn't the kid's fault. He'd just have to use other methods to get along with the child. Hell, he had to if they were going to make this work.

Riza, on the other hand, found Edward to still be pretty well behaved if she didn't make a big deal out of things he was opposed to. Once she was satisfied that he was very squeaky clean, she plucked him out of the bathtub and draped the waiting towel around his shoulders. "Go have your dad help you get your pajamas on. Try not to give him a hard time, Edward...he's just a little upset right now is all." She told him.

Edward stood where he was, picking the fuzz off of the towel. Eventually, though, he left the bathroom to go find Roy. He found him in the living room, sitting on the couch hunched over resting his face in his hands. Edward frowned. Had he upset him?

"Dad?" He ventured a bit cautiously, resting a hand on his knee.

Roy pulled his hands away to look at him. "What?" He demanded.

"Can you, um..." Edward paused, looking back at the hallway momentarily before returning his gaze to Roy. "Can you help me get my pajamas on?" He finally asked, tone quiet.

"Yeah..." Roy replied with a sigh. He got to his feet, following after Edward as the child walked back to his bedroom. Roy went over to the dresser and opened the third drawer, pulling out a pair of blue flannel pajamas. He then grabbed a pair of boxers out of the top drawer, shutting both of the drawers back before turning to Edward.

Edward stood there a bit stupidly, watching him. They shared a staring match for a few minutes, and Roy couldn't help but feel...awkward. He knew this was a child; he had been dealing with said 'child' for quite a while now. But just knowing that the boy was Fullmetal...it was unnerving all over again.

And he was playing the part of his father no less! Didn't Edward hate his father?

Roy shook his head, more to clear his thoughts than to break eye contact, before kneeling down and taking the towel from Ed. Edward involuntarily shuddered as the cool air kissed his flesh, grabbing onto Roy's shoulders as he helped him into his boxers. Roy helped him into his pajamas next, and the two stood in an almost comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Dad?" Edward spoke up after those few minutes. "I know I don't remember anything, but please don't be sad. I'm sure I'll remember something sooner or later..." Edward stood up on his toes, wrapping his arms around Roy's neck.

Roy was surprised to say the least. Here he was, not having been all that nice to the kid, and Edward was worried about _him? _The kid had no memories of his life, yet he was trying to comfort _him. _Honestly, it furthered the guilt that bubbled up inside of Roy. He was lying to the kid. Sure, he knew it was to protect him, but Edward had gone through a lot, and Roy was just some guy taking care of him in his time of need. Despite the fact that Edward misinterpreted his foul mood, he was touched by the fact that Edward even cared.

Hesitantly, Roy wrapped his arms around Edward to return the embrace. He stood up with him, moving over to the bed and setting him down. "Do you want a story?" He asked. If Edward was trying to make this work, he'd do his damnedest to try his best too.

"Yeah." Edward nodded. "Just pick one out, if you want." He replied, grinning up at him. Roy just chuckled. It was a nice change of pace to see Edward like this instead of the mess he had been earlier that day.

Roy moved over to the bookshelf, thumbing through the books he had brought over for Edward. He stopped on Peter Pan. Rather ironic story, he thought to himself. He pulled the book from the shelf, before returning to the bed. "I think you'd enjoy this one." He said.

"What is it?" Edward asked curiously, peeking at the cover.

"Peter Pan," Roy replied, opening it to the first page, "it's a book about a boy who can fly and who doesn't want to grow up."

"Well that's not right," Edward said, folding his arms across his chest, "everybody's gotta grow up sometimes."

Roy shook his head. "Well...let's just read the book, okay? I'll read the first two chapters tonight."

Roy began reading, Edward sitting quietly throughout most of it. He fell asleep somewhere in the middle of chapter two, when Peter was in the process of sweeping Wendy and her brothers off to Neverland. Roy got to his feet with the book, pulling the blanket up over him and returning the book to the shelf.

He and Riza had eventually come to the decision that Roy would sleep on the couch. So he changed into his pajamas, and went to bed.

**oOoOo**

Both Riza and Roy were startled from whatever sleep they were getting when a surprised yell woke them. Roy was already on his way to Edward's room when Riza opened her door.

"What is it?" She asked as Roy went into Edward's room.

"Black Hayate!" Roy spoke the dog's name, reprimanding him. "Get off of the bed! Edward, are you alright?"

"What is that thing?" Edward was scared. He had been sleeping when he felt something wet on his face; he had woken up to Black Hayate licking his face.

"It's a dog, Ed," Riza explained, stepping into the room and grabbing Black Hayate's collar, "I'm sorry he woke you." She apologized, before pulling the dog out of the room. Roy sighed, glancing at the clock hanging above Edward's bed. Five in the morning. He sighed, rubbing his face. "Well, we might as well get you up now." He mumbled. He would have had to wake up in thirty minutes anyway.

"I wanna go back to sleep..." Edward replied with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes.

"No, no, you can take a nap later. I'm probably going to see if Gracia can watch you. Me and Ri—your mother need to go to work today." Roy caught the slip up before it could leave his lips, before going to the closet to get an outfit. Edward sided up next to him, frowning at the man's taste in clothing. It took nearly twenty minutes to actually choose an outfit, Edward putting his two cents in as to how it would look.

So there he was in the bathroom, dressed in a gray T-shirt and a pair of dark green shorts. Roy stood next to him in his uniform, brushing his teeth. Edward was holding his own red tooth brush, staring it down. Roy looked down at Edward. "What are you doing? Brush your teeth." He said, before pulling his tooth brush away and spitting in the sink. Edward looked up at him with a frown, before slowly holding the tooth brush up to him.

"Of course..." Roy grumbled, taking the tooth brush from him. He coated it in a small layer of toothpaste, crouching so that he could be eye level with the blond. Well, mostly eye level, anyway. The kid was still short. Edward opened his mouth, and Roy brushed his teeth quickly before picking him up to reach the sink. Edward spit the paste out, before scrambling out of Roy's hold and disappearing from the bathroom and down the hall.

"Thanks, Ms. Hughes. I appreciate it." Riza placed the phone down after having talked to Gracia, looking up as Edward went into the living room. He stopped in place right before the couch, before climbing onto the cushion and sitting down. Riza grabbed a plate with jelly toast on it and a glass of milk, going into then living room and handing the plate to him. She set the glass on the end table next to the couch, before looking at Edward. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast, Edward. We're going to take you and drop you off at Ms. Gracia's house once you finish." She told him, before going to the back door.

"'Kay." Edward replied, picking the toast up and taking a bite out of it. "Who's Ms. Gracia?" He asked after taking a bite.

Riza let Black Hayate in, moving back to the Kitchen to get him some food. "She's a friend of ours. You've met her daughter Elicia." She replied.

Edward stared at Black Hayate as he trotted past him. He stuck his tongue out at the dog, before inhaling the rest of his toast.

Roy appeared from the hallway shortly after Edward finished, appearing quite tired. "I will definitely need coffee today." He said bluntly, passing Edward and going to the front door. "Are you two ready?" He asked.

"Yes," Riza replied, coming into the living room to take Edward's plate. She looked at the glass of milk. "Edward, drink your milk." She said.

"Uh-uh." Edward replied. "It looks funny."

Riza sighed, taking the glass. "I'll put it in the fridge. You can have it for dinner tonight. Now go get in the car." She told him, going back to the Kitchen.

Edward slipped off of the couch, going over to Roy and wrapping an arm around his leg. "Dad, where do you and mom work?" He asked. They had the same clothes, so they worked at the same place. Right?

"Military." Roy replied simply, before opening the door. He steered Edward outside, helping him into the car as Riza came out.

The ride to Gracia's was silent. Neither Roy nor Riza wanted to talk, and Edward was too busy looking out the window. There were buildings all around town. There were also a lot of houses, too.

When the car came to a stop, Edward lifted his head.

"We're here, Edward." Roy spoke. He and Riza got out of the car, so Edward unbuckled his seatbelt and got out too. He walked ahead, grabbing Riza's hand. Riza glanced down at him, before giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. Roy was already at the door, waiting. By the time Riza got to the door with Edward, Gracia had opened the door.

"Good morning Roy, Riza. How are you two this morning?" She asked them.

"I'm doing fine. Tired." Riza replied.

Roy nodded in agreement. "Black Hayate woke Edward up this morning around 5." He added after Riza. "So in turn, he woke us up."

"So I was told." Gracia giggled, before stepping aside. "Please come in, I just made tea." She said. Both Roy and Riza stepped inside, Edward following after the two. Gracia closed the door after them and disappeared into the Kitchen. Roy took this opportunity to take a seat on the couch, motioning for Riza to sit next to him. Edward moved over to Roy, climbing into his lap. He leaned back against him, sticking his thumb in his mouth as Gracia came back.

"It looks like you three are settling in." Gracia spoke, taking a seat in the armchair across from them. She set the tea kettle and three cups on the coffee table, pouring tea into each of them. She placed the kettle down, moving the sugar closer to the two. "I hear you're interested in getting Edward into preschool." She added.

"Yes," Riza spoke up, "I was wondering if you could give us some information in the school Elicia is going to." she added.

Gracia nodded, picking her own tea up and taking a sip. "Oh yes. It's a lovely place. They teach the children simple math and the alphabet. There are many children that he'd be able to play with, and Elicia will be there too of course. They also have circle time and nap time, and on Fridays they have Show and Tell." she explained. "You can even apply for free lunches if you'd like."

"That sounds nice." Riza replied. "How about the teachers?" She asked.

"Oh, they're wonderful," Gracia said, "very nice to the children as well as patient."

"Good, good." Riza nodded. "And how many days a week?" She asked.

"Two. They would extend it, but since the lowest age is three, they can't really change it for the younger children." Gracia explained. Riza nodded in reply.

"Mom," Edward pulled his thumb out of his mouth, "what's a...um," he frowned, trying to remember the word she had used, "the, um, preschool."

Riza smiled. "It's a place you go to, to learn things Edward. Like to understand letters and things like that."

"Oh." Edward replied simply. "And what's a teachers?" He asked moments later.

"They are the people who teach you." Riza replied, again.

"Oh." Edward fell silent after that, running out of questions. "I have to use the bathroom." He suddenly said, worming out of Roy's lap.

Roy sighed, getting to his feet. "I'll show him where it is." He said, before following Edward out of the room.

Once the two left, Gracia spoke up. "Is Roy all right? He's been awfully quiet since you two came." She said.

"He's stressed," Riza replied, taking a moment to prepare the tea that Gracia had poured, "between work and trying to find a cure for Edward, he's also having to take care of him...I think it's finally taking it's toll after all this time." she said.

"I understand. It's been a long time since Edward was...well, himself. I can imagine that Roy's wanting to find a solution as quickly as possible, too. It's a good thing he has you to help him with Edward." Gracia said, taking another sip of her own tea. "Children are a lot to handle on your own." She added.

"Indeed they are. I'm doing my best to help him, but for some reason Edward's just more attached to him than me. I mean, there are some things so far he only wants me to help him with, but for the most part Roy is the one he wants." Riza sighed, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Honestly, I see the regular Ed and the child Edward as two different people. The child is so well behaved, and the Ed that joined the military...well, he's a nice kid, but they _are _different in so many ways." She explained.

"I know exactly what you mean." Gracia replied.

Roy returned with Edward shortly after that, and Roy announced that they were running five minutes late. Riza gave Edward a quick hug, and the two left Edward in Gracia's care.

**oOoOo**

"So Edward, how are you feeling this morning?" Gracia watched Edward as she folded the laundry. Edward was laying on the couch on his stomach, drawing on a piece of paper with crayons.

"Fine." Edward replied distractedly. He swayed his feet, then slowly stopped. "Ms. Gracia, does Elicia have a dad?" He asked suddenly. "I know I have a mom and a dad, but there's no dad here." He said curiously.

Gracia paused in folding a bathroom towel, looking at him. After a few moments, she shook her head. "No, honey. Elicia's father has passed. He's in heaven now." She replied.

"What's heaven?" Edward replied, frowning as he pushed himself to sit up.

Gracia thought about it. She distinctly remembered Edward's beliefs. "Well, it's a place that some people believe that the good people go when they die." She spoke, keeping the explanation vague and simple.

"Oh." Edward replied. "What's die?" He asked.

Gracia paused to think for a moment, then shook her head. "Well, would you look at that? It's time for your nap, Edward." She smiled at him, folding the towel she held and standing up. "You can use Elicia's bed, since she's at preschool." She told him.

"But I'm not tired..." Edward mumbled, trying to hide the fact that he was now rubbing his eyes.

"Oh yes you are," Gracia replied, "I know the signs, young man." She plucked Edward up from the couch, carrying him to Elicia's room. She entered the room and went over to the bed, setting him down. "You can have lunch when you get up, then we'll go pick Elicia up from Preschool. Do you want anything in particular?" She asked.

"Um...no, anything's fine." Edward answered. His mind was off of the previous matter now. He rolled onto his stomach, pulling the blanket over himself. Gracia nodded, leaving the door ajar as she left the room.

**oOoOo**

"Sheska, please." Riza stood in the office of the Investigations department, arms folded across her chest. "You won't get in trouble for it, I promise." Even with the strings that Riza could pull, Sheska was still hesitant to carry out the favor.

"But Riza, you know how the Fuhrer feels about this sort of thing..." Sheska replied slowly, starting to stack a few books on the corner of her desk.

"Sheska," Riza tried again, "we can't get him into the preschool unless we have a birth certificate; we can't use his!" She said. According to that piece of paper, Edward was fourteen years old this year. But right now in the moment, he was only five. Plus, they weren't listed as his parents on the original document, either.

Riza grabbed a piece of paper, scribbling details onto it with a pen she had grabbed. "Fill out a new certificate with these details," she said, pushing the paper towards her friend, "I'll be back in thirty minutes to get it."

As Riza left, Sheska sighed and looked down at the paper. She stared at it for a moment.

"Hey, wait!" She went to say something, but Riza was already gone. "It'll be risky setting up a new registration number without the government branch finding out..." She sighed, but took the paper into the back room to get started. She'd just have to make one in the registry and hope it went unnoticed.

Riza returned to Roy's office minutes later, a stack of paperwork under her arm and a cup of coffee in her other hand. Roy glanced up as she entered, then groaned in disdain.

"Riza, you really shouldn't have..." he said, scowling at the stack as Riza set it down. Riza just offered him a small, sympathetic smile as she set the cup in front of him. "Try to focus, Roy. It isn't too bad right now." She told him.

True. It was very peaceful today. No Edward around meant peace and quiet. But to Roy's dismay, now he was stuck worrying if the child was alright or not. Riza noticed how he jumped to the phone every time it rang.

Riza moved around the desk to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and placing her chin on top of his head. "Relax, Roy. Edward is fine. I'm sure Gracia would call if anything were wrong." She told him.

Roy worried at his lip for a moment. "I know. It's just..."

"I understand." Riza told him, before straightening. "Now you might want to work on that paperwork, sir." Riza said with an authoritative tone as she pulled away from him, walking back around the desk again. Just as she was headed for her post, the phone rang. She turned quickly and grabbed it before Roy could make a move. "I've got this one." She picked it up, placing it to her ear. "Colonel Mustang's office, First Lieutenant Hawkeye speaking." She greeted.

"_Oh, hello Riza," _Gracia's voice spoke on the other end, "_You wouldn't be able to leave work at the moment, would you?" _She asked.

"Why? What's wrong?" Riza asked, just the slightest hint of worry in her tone.

"_Oh, it's nothing major, really. Edward just needs a change of clothes." _Gracia replied. _"He had an accident while he was taking a nap." _She said.

"Oh...he wasn't sleeping in Elicia's bed, was he?" Riza asked.

"_Oh, it's fine! Elicia still has accidents here and there, so I have a system worked out. It's already cleaned up, but I don't have any clothes that can fit him." _Gracia replied.

"Alright. I'll be there in a bit." Riza replied, before setting the phone down. She looked at Roy. "Edward had an accident. Can I borrow your car? I'm going to run over to the house and grab a spare outfit." She said. Roy just nodded, staring at his paperwork blankly. "Oh, and get that certificate from Sheska in five minutes. I'll be back." Riza was then out the door, leaving Roy to grumble and complain about his paperwork.

**oOoOo**

"Edward, are you alright now?" Edward hadn't said a word since she had woken him up. He was sitting at the table on a towel, staring at the bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of him. He didn't reply. Gracia looked at him for a moment, before taking a seat next to him. "It's alright, Edward. Things happen; it's not your fault." She said gently.

"But...but I know how to go on my own..." Edward was upset about the whole thing. He had been chewing and sucking his thumb, nearly worrying the digit raw.

Gracia took his hand, pulling it from his mouth before he could damage it any further. She grabbed a paper towel, wiping it off. "It doesn't matter, Edward. You're going through a lot right now; I would be more surprised if you weren't showing signs of stress." She told him. She had gone through the same thing with Elicia when her husband had passed. The little girl was always sucking her thumb and wetting the bed.

Edward sniffed, burying his face into his arms. "I don't like it." He said, voice tiny. "I want it to stop."

Gracia didn't say anything. Instead, she placed a hand on his head. "You sure have some soft hair, Edward." She spoke suddenly. The change of topic worked like a charm.

Edward lifted his head, blinking. "My hair?" He repeated, reaching up to feel it. "It just feels like hair." He said, disappointed.

Gracia smiled at him. "Alright. Eat your soup and I'll go wait on your mom." She said, glad that she was able to distract him from the topic.

Edward just looked at the soup, not really wanting to eat it. His stomach hurt. He ate it all the same though, getting halfway through with it when there was a knock at the door. Gracia answered it, speaking briefly with Riza before returning to the Kitchen.

"Here Edward, I have a different set of clothes for you. Why don't you go get dressed, then we'll go get Elicia?" Gracia held the clothes out to him. Edward slowly slipped off of the chair, taking the clothes and going into the hallway to get to the bathroom. He returned several minutes later, wearing a red T-shirt and black pants.

Next stop was to go pick Elicia up.


End file.
